


Only God Knows Why

by Pixie_Queen24 (FallenAngel69)



Series: Domestic Cookleta [1]
Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: Character Death, Community: cookleta, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Male Slash, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 00:54:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 64,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18304874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenAngel69/pseuds/Pixie_Queen24
Summary: David Cook, having lost the love of his life, decides to audition for American Idol. There, he will meet Archie who will change his life in ways that he couldn't imagine.Also, inspired a tiny bit by the movie P.S. I love you.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first major Cookleta fic, and probably my most popular. It and it's sequel along with all the little outtake ficlets spanned from 2008 to 2012... I'll admit the first bit may be a little rough, but I'd like to think my writing skills improved over the course of this fic. :)
> 
> Although this is an old work, comments are still welcome and greatly appreciated. :)

It was late in the afternoon on a warm spring day in 2006. Cassandra Morgan walked into the near empty pub. She saw Chris, the manager removing the chairs from the tables, getting the place ready for business when it opened in a few hours. She smiled and waved at him before she made her way to the bar. “Hey baby,” she greeted as she leaned over the clean bar to give her boyfriend a smooch.

“Good afternoon, sweetie,” he replied, returning her peck.

Cassandra sat down on a bar stool and watched him wipe the water spots from the various sized glasses. “Any plans for tonight after you get off work?”

“I’m doing what ever you are doing.”

“No practice with the guys?”

“Nope. I’m all yours.”

She grinned. “That’s what I like to hear.”

“You going to be hanging around here?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I’ll probably be back around eleven or so.” Cassandra picked up a straw from the dispenser and started twirling it through her fingers.

“Cass?” he asked, looking at her with concern.

“Hmm?”

“You ok?”

“Of course. I was just thinking,” She replied. “I talked to Mom this morning after you left.”

“Uhoh. That can’t be good. What horrid things did she have to say about me this time?”

“David.”

He put down the glass that he was cleaning and rested his arms on the bar. “What? You and I both know it’s true. She’s always going to wonder why her baby is wasting her time with a musician slash bartender. The woman does not like me.”

“She likes you. She just doesn’t approve of the way we live.”

He snorted. “Ok. I get the point.” He said. “Someday Cassie, I promise. You will have a ring on your finger.”

“I don’t care about a ring, David. I am not pushing you to marry me. I just get so frustrated with my mother.”

David rolled his eyes. “And she’s perfect?”

“She seems to think so.”

He laughed softly. “Go home, love. Take a nice relaxing bubble bath, and just forget about Mommy Dearest. You and I will do something special tonight. Ok?”

“Yeah. Sounds good to me.” She leaned across the bar, meeting him halfway for a sweet kiss. “I love you.”

He smiled and took her hand in his. “I love you too.” He placed a kiss on the top of her hand. “With all my heart.”

She smiled. “I’ll see you tonight.”

 

*****

Later that night, as promised, the two of them did something special. He took her to her favorite place, The Rivers Edge Bistro & Café for coffee. Then they strolled along the banks of the Arkansas River. When they reached a bench nestled in a tiny alcove on the rivers edge, they sat down. David held her in his arms and they watched the steady flow of the river in the moonlight for hours. “It’s so peaceful here,” she said.

He nodded in agreement and looked at his watch wanting the sun to come over the horizon soon. He could see the pinkish glow in the distance. He smiled thinking that it wouldn’t be much longer. They had done this many times. Stayed up all night, just to see the sun rise. It was their thing.

She snuggled closer to him. “I love you.”

He smiled. “Love you, too.”

“Here it comes,” she said softly, looking up into the sky as the east began to turn bright pink.

“Cass?”

“Hmm?”

“Will you marry me?”

She sat up and looked at him with wide eyes. “What?!”

He grinned and reached into his pocket. He held out a small box to her. As he flipped open the lid, he repeated his question. “Will you marry me?”

“When did you get this?” She asked, still stunned.

“Yesterday.”

“So it has nothing to do with our conversation this afternoon?” She asked, wanting to make sure that he wasn’t feeling pressured.

He began to laugh softly. “What?! No! I was planning this. I have been for a while. Since before we left Missouri. Just had to find the perfect ring. Now, will you marry me or not?”

She giggled, realizing how she must have sounded. “I’m sorry! Gosh…I must sound terrible. Of course, David. I’ve been wanting you to ask for years!”

He grinned and placed the ring on her finger before looking into her eyes. “Sorry I took so long.”

“It’s ok. I would wait for ever if I had to.” She leaned in and pressed her lips against his in a slow, gentle kiss. “I love you, so much.”

He smiled. It didn’t matter that they’d just said that three minutes ago. He never got tired of hearing it. “I love you, too.”

***Several Months Later***

David sighed and leaned against the door as it closed behind him. He looked around the empty apartment and felt his heart constrict. The reality of it all, finally setting in. he felt hot tears pouring down his cheeks. His world had forever changed in a matter of weeks. He thought he’d been prepared. Thought he could handle it. However, nothing could compare to the deep pain and sorrow that he felt at that very moment.

Without really thinking about it, he found his way to the sofa and collapsed with his face buried in the pillows as sobs rocked his entire body.

He vaguely heard a knock on the door moment later. He remained where he was, not really in the mood for company. A few knocks later, he heard the rustle of keys and immediately wanted to disappear into the crevasses of the couch.

“David?” He heard the familiar female voice. He didn’t bother to look up. He didn’t really want to see her. “David, honey…” She said softly and he felt the couch sink in a bit deeper as she sat down on the edge near where he lay. She placed a hand on his back. She didn’t say anymore for a long time. She simply rubbed his back soothingly as he cried.

It was weird for him. He never known her to be nice to him. Of course he’d never been so vulnerable around her either. Perhaps it was just because she felt his pain.

After several moments, his sobs had subsided and his breathing had returned to normal. He finally turned to face her with blood shot eyes. He was surprised to see the warmth in hers. He sat up so that they were side by side and he was more comfortable.

Much to his surprise, she suddenly wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “It’s going to be ok,” she whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. David wondered which on of them she was trying to assure. Tentatively, he slipped his arms around her and returned the hug.

“I didn’t know I could hurt this much.”

And it was at that moment that Vivian Morgan realized what kind of love this young man and her daughter had shared. She now felt regret for not being more supportive. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered against his hair. “For everything.”

David moved back from their embrace and looked at her. This was a side of her that he’d never seen. “That,” he took a deep cleansing breath. “That means a lot.”

She smiled softly. “You know, David…well no, you probably didn’t know. But I’ll tell you now. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call. I know I’ve been dreadful to you in the past, but I hope that we can work past that and be friends.”

He felt elated that Cassie’s mom had finally accepted him, but wasn’t it too late? What would be the point of him trying to be her friend? Of course that was a dumb question. They would need each other. They  also needed to do it for her. He nodded. “I’d like that.”

“And honey, it will get easier with time.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t see how it could.”

“It will,” she said as she pulled a package out of her purse and handed it to him. “She asked me to give this to you.”

David took the package that she offered and opened it to find a DVD. He gave Vivian a questioning look.

“She just said to give it to you with the instructions to watch it when you were ready and to watch it alone.”

“Do you know what is on it?”

Vivian nodded. “She loved you very much, David. She would have done anything in her power to stay with you.”

He felt fresh tears welling up in his already sore eyes. He never cried so much in his life. He just wanted to wake up from this nightmare that had become his life.

“I loved…” he paused. It felt really odd to him, saying it in the past tense as if he no longer loved her. “Love. I love her too. And I always will.”

She smiled. “I know.”

“Thank you,” he said, sincerely. “For this… for coming over. For…”

She didn’t give him a chance to thank her for anything else. She simply embraced him again. “You’re welcome. Just remember to call me if you need to. Even if it’s just to talk.”

He nodded as she got up to leave. He sat back on the couch when she had gone. He loked at the disk in his hand. He need to hear her voice. To see her face. To pretend for a little while that she was still with him.

He got up and put the disk into the DVD player and turned on the TV. He sat back down on the couch and grabbed a pillow he felt his heart start to thump at the anticipation of seeing her on the screen.

_“Hey baby!” She greeted as the camera focused on her, sitting in her favorite chair._

David looked to his left at the empty overstuffed chair. He could almost imagine that she was there.

_“Obviously, if you are watching this, it’s because Mom kept her promise. See, she really does like you!”_

David smiled, she was still trying to convince him that Vivian liked him.

_“I know this is weird and bordering on the side of morbid, but I couldn’t sleep a few nights ago, and as I lay awake watching you sleep, I came up with a plan. Just a little something to help you get by….”_

David hugged the pillow to his chest. She was such an angel.

_“First of all, Baby, I love you so, so much! Never forget that. Ok?…..”_

David found himself nodding. He smiled hearing her giggle. It was so familiar, even though he hadn’t heard it in so long.

“You’re talking to the TV, aren’t you? See, I know you well, Cookie. This is how I want you to remember me. Pretend that I was never sick. Remember only the good times….”

Pretend she was never sick? How could he possibly forget watching her deteriorate into someone he barely recognized? How could he forget the way she fought for every breath she took? How could he forget holding her in his arms as she finally gave up? He felt more tears pouring over his cheeks. Perhaps watching this video so soon was just self torture, but he needed to do this.

_“So, this is my plan… I’ve taken care of everything. You will be getting messages from me at random. There is a point to each of them. Please don’t try and figure them out, and certainly do not go looking for answers as to how they are being delivered. When the time is right, you will get my last message and I will say goodbye, but don’t worry, I’m not ready for that just yet….”_

David felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, creeping through his tears. She was so infectious. So happy. So bubbly. So brave.

_“Your first message will arrive by mail soon. Take it for what it is. Have fun with it. Now on to other things. Tell you family that I love them. Tell Andy that I am still better than he is at Mario Kart…” She laughed for a moment before looking seriously into the camera. “Now, my sweet, sweet baby boy…”_

For the first time since the video began, he saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes.

_“I can’t even begin to tell you how much it pains me to know that I’ve gotta leave you behind. I would give anything in the world to stay, but a higher power obviously has other plans. I know by now we have talked about this, but knowing you, you’re still questioning it. Right? Baby…” she paused and pointed towards the heavens. “He knows what is best. Just remember that I am with you everywhere you go, and that I’ll always be your baby. Always….”_

David smiled remembering the night he and his band played at the bar and she was standing right in front of the stage. He sang her his version of Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” He’d done it especially for her. He remember the tears that filled her eyes as he made it a point to sing it right to her. He remembered what a great night they’d had, following the last number. The memories were so vivid it was like he was reliving them.

_“Great night, wasn’t it?”_

Yes, she knew him that well.

_“I have to go now, so I’ll leave you with that memory and this….” she blew a kiss towards the camera and with her brightest smile she said, “I love you, David Cook. You are my one. My only. My everything.”_

He was left staring at the TV as the screen faded to black and his version of “Always Be My Baby” played.

How was he going to get through this?


	2. Chapter Two

 

As promised, his letter arrived two days later. That was followed by several more over the following months. Sometimes they would just be sweet letters letting him know how much she loved him, and then other times, it would be little clues for a scavenger hunt. David had found several little souvenirs that he had forgotten. With each, of course, came a special memory. He usually found himself smiling through tears, remembering the events that made them what they were. One time, she had even sent him to the kitchen to find a box of microwavable popcorn and a few home videos that she’d hidden on top of a cabinet.

That day, he sat through hours of footage. Vacations, road trips, family reunions, and other random things. After he was done, he went to bed and stayed for almost an entire day. He wanted her back. He felt so empty without her.

Then one day, a letter arrived and he knew instantly that it was from her. He took it up to the rooftop, which had become his favorite place to read her letters or watch her dvds. He sat down in the corner and began to read. To his surprise, this letter wasn’t about him. It wasn’t even about her. It was about his brother Andrew.

_My Dearest David,_

_I know you were expecting this to be another one of those letters that sent you on a trip back in time, but it’s not. This time it’s about Andy. It’s coming up on audition time for American Idol. I think you should encourage him. He’s been wanting to try it for years. This may be the time for him to go for it. Go with him!!! Don’t let him back out again._

_Now, as for you, love. I think you should audition too. But that is just my opinion. It’s totally up to you._

_As always, I love you!_

_Peace, Love, & Chocolate Kisses!_

_~ Cassie_

David stared at the letter in his hand. It amazed him how much she had cared for his little brother. Not just him, but his entire family. She’d always been close to them. He stayed put on the roof for a little while before going back down to his apartment to call his brother.

******

Within a few days, he found himself on the way to Nebraska for the American Idol auditions. He was there to support Andrew.

“So what made you think of this?” Andrew asked from the backseat of his mom’s car.

David turned to look back at him. “Cassie.”

“You got another letter?” His mom asked. She knew about the letters, but she wasn’t sure if they were healthy or not.

“Yeah. This one was solely about Andrew though.” He smiled back at his brother. “She told me to encourage you and to keep you from backing out.”

Andrew smiled. He missed Cassie too. A lot. She was like a big sister to him. Always thinking about him. Always including him when others didn’t. She was the glue that held him and David so tight. When she died, he’d worried that they would drift apart, but to his relief, that never happened. So this…her being the instigation for him following his dream was not a surprise. “Leave it to Cass.”

 

*****

The next morning, they were standing in line waiting for the audition process to begin. It turned out to be nothing like they had expected. By the end of the day, David who hadn’t even wanted to audition had his golden ticket to Hollywood. He was stunned. Andrew on the other hand had not made it. This bothered David considerably, so he did the logical thing and pulled Andrew to the side, away from the cameras. Away from their mom. “You know, I’m happy doing what I do, right?” he asked.

Andrew blinked, knowing exactly what his brother was going to say. “If you even think…”

“Andrew, I just want you to know that if you’re not comfortable with this, I don’t have to do this. You just tell me and I won’t.”

“You’re kidding right? If you even think about not doing this, I will kick you ass.”

David laughed softly. “If you think you’re big enough.”

“Come on, Dave…” he said. “Make Cass proud.”

David closed his eyes and looked toward the ground, remembering what she had said in her letter. He nodded. “Are you sure?”

“Yes!!!”

“Ok, then.”

Andrew smiled and gave him a hug. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Thanks.”

*****

When he got back home he went up to his apartment still feeling weird about how the auditions had gone. He removed his jacket and threw it in the corner. He looked around the apartment. It was a mess. He really needed to clean, so he began doing just that. He started picking up the stuff laying on the floor and on the stands. As he was gathering up some stuff laying on the desk, his eyes fell upon a picture of Cassie. He paused for a moment and smiled. “I did it, Cass. I auditioned for American idol and I made it.” It was almost as if he could feel her with him. He closed his eyes and imagined that she was there, hugging him. Telling him how proud she was. When he opened his eyes, he sighed and ran his finger gently across the top of the picture frame. “I love you, Babe.”

*****

The next few weeks flew by and he found himself in Los Angeles, California with a bunch of other struggling musicians. He was a bit uncomfortable at first. He felt no connection with anyone, but then he met Michael Johns. Michael was a rocker from Down Under. He was funny and charismatic. Very easy to like. They grew close rather quickly.

The performance requirements were grueling. The judges were ok for the most part. He discovered that he didn’t really like being judged, though. He did, however, suck it up and take it. He found himself wishing that the week would just be over. Soon enough it was and he was sitting in a room along with half of the other contestants waiting on their turn to go up in the elevator to face the music, so to speak.

Once he was up with the judges, he felt his nerves trying to get the better of him, but he pushed them aside, deciding what is meant to be, will be. And so it was. He was in the top 24, and to his surprise, everyone seemed genuinely happy about that. He was amazed at how the other contestants cheered for him as he stepped of the elevator. It was a good day to be David Cook.

 

*****

It was after that night that he became acquainted with everyone who would go on to be with him through his journey on American Idol. There was Brooke White, a marvelous woman who truly cared about every other human being on the planet. He loved her immediately. Carly Smithson, a sweet Irish rocker who could really belt them out. He got a long with her quite well. Jason Castro? At first he wasn’t sure about him. He seemed stoned, but David soon learned that it was just his laid back personality and that he really was a great guy. Of course Michael, who he had already made a connection with. Kristy Lee who shared the same last name. They’d spent quite a few hours together trying to find a distant relative that may connect them. He knew it was an absurd idea, but he indulged her. Then there was the kid, David Archuleta. He was shy. David wasn’t sure how to take him in the beginning, but after the first couple of weeks, he began to see what a cool person Archie really was.

 

*****

It was a Friday afternoon. The idols were at rehearsals. David has just finished his song and was waiting for his stylist to get there. They had to pick clothes for the next week. “Hey,” He greeted as he sat down on the sofa next to Archuleta with his bag of peanuts.

The boy looked up, his eyes sparkling. “Oh. Hey, Cook.”

“What are you doing?”

“Math. I hate math.”

“Yeah…math sucks pretty bad.” David said as he picked up a book that had word cross puzzles in it. “I spent most of my time in math class goofing off.”

“Hey Dave!” They heard Michael Johns call.

Both of them looked up. David Cook shook his head as Michael laughed. “From now on, I am David and he is Archie.”

David Archuleta looked at him with a raised brow. “Archie?”

“Yeah,” David said, tossing a peanut into his mouth. “It’s cute.”

“Cute? Gee… Thanks.”

David grinned and looked at Michael. “So what is it, Johns?”

“You want to go out with us tonight?

“No, thanks.”

“Oh, come on mate. You might find a woman.”

“I don’t want to find a woman,” David replied.

Archie was listening intently on the conversation taking place around him. He found it odd that David didn’t “want” to find a woman. But then again, he really didn’t know all that much about him. Maybe he already had a woman.

“Suit yourself. The offer stands, if you change your mind.”

“Thanks,” he said. “But I think I’m going to stay in and watch movies or something.”

 

*****

Later that night, David was sitting on his bed, flipping through the channels on the TV, when there was a soft rapping on his door. He threw the remote down and went to answer it. He was surprised to see Archie standing there. “Archie!”

David Archuleta cringed at the thought of the new nickname, but for some reason, hearing it from Cook didn’t bother him as much. “Hey.”

“What’s up?” David asked, opening the door wider to allow Archie to come in.

“Nothing.” He giggled nervously. “Thought you might like some company. Dad said I could come.” Receiving a small laugh from Cook cause him to mentally scold himself for saying that. “Oh that was real cool to say.”

David cook grinned, shaking his head. “Well, I’m glad you’re allowed to hang out with me.” He closed the door.

Archie sat down on the chair that was by the window. It was a small room. The idols hadn’t been afforded the opportunity of having suites just yet. They were still sharing double rooms. He smiled, shyly. Now that he was there, he really had no idea what to do or say. He had just had this harebrained idea to come see if David Cook wanted some company.

“So…” David said as he sat down on his bed.

“Yeah..Um..Gosh… I uh… I should go…” He stood up.

David looked at the boy, confused as to what was going on. “What? Why?”

Archie turned to face him. “I…I don’t know why I came here.”

“I thought you came over to keep me company.”

“Yeah. I did,” Archie replied. “But you’re so cool and I’m…” he sighed, wishing he was better with words. “Not.”

David smiled and shook his head. “Nah. Archie, you’re cool.”

“No I’m not.”

“I think you are.”

“Really?”

“Why would I lie?”

Archie shrugged. “I don’t know. To be nice?”

David laughed. “No!”

“Oh….”

“So what did you want to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Wanna talk?”

Archie smiled brightly. “Yeah!” He was all for getting to know Cook better. He wasn’t sure why, but there was something about the guy that drew him in. And Cook was awful nice to him.

David smiled and made himself comfortable on the bed. “Great. Are you going to stand up all night?”

Archie blushed slightly and laughed. “Nah.” He retook his seat by the window, making himself comfortable.

David sighed. He didn’t know what it was about this kid that made him want to be his friend. He just felt the need to learn more about him. What a more perfect opportunity. “So, tell me about yourself…something I don’t know.”


	3. Chapter Three

Archie finished telling David about the time that he was on star search and shrugged. “I didn’t win, obviously. But it was a good experience.”

David was still laying on his bed with is chin propped up on his arms. “I can imagine.”

Archie looked around the room, they had been talking for about an hour and a half and Cook had hardly told him a thing about himself. He was beginning to wonder if Cook wanted to share things with him. He spotted a framed picture on the bedside table. “Is uh…. Is that your girlfriend?”

David turned his head toward the picture. He grabbed it from it’s spot on the stand. “Yeah…” He handed it to Archie. “Well, she was my fiancée.”

“Was?”

“Yeah. She died.” David explained. “About 10 months ago.”

Archie took the picture from David. "Oh. Sorry." He looked at the picture of the brunette woman who looked to be about the same age as Cook. "She's pretty."

David nodded with a smile. "Yeah."

Archie hesitated before asking the next question. He didn't know how touchy of a subject it might be. But, if he was going to get to know Cook better, he wanted to know everything. "Wh-what happened?"

"Inflammatory Carcinoma of..." David paused and decided against the long medical term. "Breast cancer. The worst kind."

Archie looked back down at the picture in his hands. He felt sad for his new found friend. "I'm sorry."

David nodded his head in appreciation. He never knew what to say when people told him they were sorry for his loss. Was he supposed to thank them? Tell them that it was ok? It was all very confusing to him. He took the framed photo back when Archie handed it to him. "She was a trooper."

Archie smiled softly. He wasn't sure what to say next, so he just remained quiet. To his dismay, so did David. He looked around the room trying to think of something else to talk about. Somehow he kept

coming back to the woman in the picture. He wanted to know more. "What was her name?"

Cook looked up at him, kinda startled. He had drifted away in to his own land, with his thoughts. "Hmm?"

"Her name?"

"Oh," David looked back to the picture. "Cassie."

"Does it bother you to talk about her? Because if it does, I'll stop asking questions." David felt nervous, fearing that he was skating on thin ice with the topic at hand.

"No!" Cook said quickly. "Actually, I love to talk about her. It's just that usually whoever I'm talking to gets squimish and feels the need to offer up their sympathy. Then I feel like shit. Some times I

just need to share my thoughts and memories. Trying not to be so sad about it."

Archie smiled, his eyes shining. He could do that. He could listen to Cook tell him everything about her without offering pity. "Tell me about her."

David was surprised. This was a first. "What do you want to know?"

"How'd you meet?"

David smiled, his eyes lighting up as he remembered.

****Flashback****

David looked out across the crowd. He was playing with his band for the back to school bash that one of their classmates was throwing. That's when he spotted her. She was sitting at the makeshift bar with a few other girls. She was sipping at an apple martini, laughing at something someone had said. He watched her for a moment and soon found himself infatuated with her smile. The way her eyes would light up and her cheeks would turn a slight shade of pink ever so often.

As soon as their first set was done, he made his way over to where she was sitting. He squeezed in between her and another man who didn't appear to be with her or her friends. "Hi!" he said over the loud noise.

She smiled shyly at him, brushing a strand of dark curls out of her face. “Hello.”

“Can I get you another drink?” he asked, looking at her with his cutest smile. Normally, he didn’t just go up to girls. He was quite shy in that area, but there was something about this woman that had him captivated.

“I don’t know, can you?” She asked, giving him a smile that sent his heart into a tizzy.

He smirked. “I’m sorry. MAY I get you another drink?”

“I’d be sad if you didn’t.”

“Another Martini?”

“Virgin please.”

He raised a curious brow, but turned to the ‘bar tender’ and for a martini and himself a beer. “I’m David, by the way. David Cook.”

“Cassie Morgan,” she replied, finally turning her whole body toward him. “You guys sounded really great up there,” she complimented.

“Thanks.” He grinned widely at her as he was handed the drinks.

“How long do you have between sets?”

“About an hour. They‘re going to do karaoke for a while now..”

She smiled. “Good.”

The next hour went by entirely too fast for David. They talked and she even convinced him to dance with her. He was not a dancer, but he wasn’t about to let the chance to hold her in his arms, pass by. He managed to get her number and a date for the next night. And a very sweet kiss. That kind of surprised him, but she seemed to be as into him as he was into her.

Before her knew it, one of the guys in the band was pulling him away to get ready for their next set. He got up on the stage with the rest of the band and put his guitar on. He then informed the guys that he had a special request. The entire time he was talking with her, there was a song coming to his mind. He had to sing it. He walked up to the microphone and gazed out at the crowd. “Everyone having a good time?”

The crowd cheered and he smiled as he tuned his guitar. “Great. Well listen…we’re going to do a little something different. This is actually a song we haven’t done since high school. I hope everyone remembers it.” He looked back at his band mates. “Tonight, I want to dedicate this song to a very special someone.” He scanned the crowd, looking for her. He found her at the bar, sitting on one of the stools watching him intently. He smiled. “Cassie, this one’s for you.”

The band played the intro and soon his gravelly voice could be heard through the speakers. _“Girl, you’re looking fine tonight, and every guy has got you in his sight. What you’re doing with a clown like me is surely one of life’s little mysteries. So tonight, I’ll ask the stars above…how did I ever win your love? What did I do? What did I say? To turn your angel eyes my way…”_

He smiled at her as she watched him, with an adoring smile. She couldn’t believe how quickly she’d taken to him. That cute smirk of his. Those eyes. Everything about him screamed sexy, and yet he was clueless as to just how hot he was.

_“Well, I’m the guy who never learned to dance. Never even got one second glance. Across a crowded room was close enough. I could look but I could never touch. So tonight I’ll ask the stars above. How did I ever win your love? What did I do? What did I say? To turn your angel eyes my way. Don’t anyone wake me, if it’s just a dream. ‘Cause she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. All you fellows, you can look all you like, but this girl, you see she’s leaving here with me tonight….Yeah….”_

His eyes met hers and she bit her lip, and put her hand to her heart. He grinned and continued the song. Yeah, that was a good choice of song.

****End flashback****

“You just met her and you sang “Angel Eyes” to her?”

“Yeah. That’s the song that got stuck in my head,” David said with a dreamy look on his face. “Her eyes were so…I dunno…they just held so much life.”

Archie smiled. “She’s sounds really wonderful.”

“She was,” David wiped the corner of his eye discreetly. He didn’t want the younger David to see the tears. “Afterwards she told me that I was cheesy.”

Archie’s eyes grew wide. “Huh?”

“Yeah, but lucky for me she appreciated cheesy.” He sighed. “What about you, Arch? You have a girlfriend?”

The younger boy giggled. “Nah! I don’t have time…I’ve never really…Ya know, I dunno….just…”

David laughed softly. “It’s cool, man.”

“Is that weird?”

“No. Not really. I wasn’t exactly popular with girls at your age. Hell, I’m still not.”

Archie rolled his eyes. “Right.”

“No seriously. I wasn’t.”

Archie didn’t believe him. There was no way Cook wasn’t popular with the ladies. It just wasn’t possible. He happened to notice the clock on the nightstand. “Crap!”

“What?”

“It’s after midnight.”

“Yeah….so?”

“I should go.”

David smiled. “Ok. Well, it’s been fun.”

“Yeah.” Archie got up and walked toward the door.

Cook sat up on the bed. “Hey, Archie?”

He stopped as he reached for the door knob. “Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

Archie smiled. “No problem.”

 


	4. Chapter Four

Michael Johns entered the room behind David. He closed the door. "Top 10 mate. We’re going on tour!"

David smiled at his friend and sat down on his bed, kicking off his boots. "I know, man! It’s awesome."

"We should be down in the bar, celebrating."

"You go ahead. I think I’m just gonna hang here."

Michael rolled his eyes. "You and Archie have plans?"

"No. We don’t make plans." David defended. They never made plans. Archie just showed up when ever he felt like it. They’d actually become good friends.

"I Don’t get it. How can a 25 year old and a 17 year old have so much to talk about?"

"He’s a cool kid, Johns."

"He’s too awkward to be cool, Davey." Michael said as he went into the bathroom to change clothes.

"He’s shy," David explained. "Once he warms up to you, he’s not like that." David wrinkled his nose and furrowed his brow wondering why he was defending Archie so much. ‘Because he’s your friend, you twit.’ He chided himself. Of all the other people around, only Archie listened to him and took interest in what he had to say.

"Ok, man," Michael said when he finally came out of the bathroom. "I believe you. Are you sure you don’t want to go?"

"Yeah. I’m sure."

"Ok. Oh look. You have mail," he said, picking up the stack of mail left on the stand by the door.

David took the letters that were handed to him. He sorted through the envelopes. Most of them seemed to be fan mail, but then he came to tone in a simple pink envelope. He swallowed thickly. He hadn’t received anything since the one before Idol began. He stared at the envelope in his hand for a long time before Michael caught him. "What’s wrong, Mate?"

David’s eyes shifted up to look at the older man. "N-nothing." He laid the rest of the stack on the stand beside of his bed and began to open the letter. He paused before rippiing it completely open. He didn’t want to read it in front of Michael. He didn’t know what would happen to his emotions.

"Are yougoing to read it?" Michael asked.

David laid it to the side. "Yeah. Afterwhile."

Michael gave him a strange look but went about his business. "Ok. Well, I’m out. You have a pleasant evening."

David waved. "You too."

Once the coast was clear, David opened the letter and unfolded the paper. As he did, something fell from between the folds. He caught it before it could fall to the floor. It was a blue guitar pick with ‘I <3 David’ written in black, magic marker. He smiled and closed his fingers around it, holding it tightly as he began to read.

_My dearest David,_

_Me Again! I am once more, watching you sleep. I think this may be my favorite past time. Do you know how cute you are when you sleep? You are!_

_So, the guitar pick. Look familiar? It was yours. I swiped it from you the night we met._

David wrinkled his brow. He remembered looking all over for a pick until he had to borrow one to get through their next gig. He smiled and shook his head. That had never crossed his mind.

_I wanted a keepsake from the best night of my life...well that far anyway. You can have it back now. You can use it when you play in front of millions of screaming girls which I know you will do._

He smiled and clutched the pick tighter. If only she could see him now.

_I have so much time to think now. Sometimes I wonder if that is a good thing. I was thinking about what you asked me a couple of weeks ago. I hope you understand now, why I said no. It wasn’t because I didn’t want it. I just didn’t want you to be a widower before your 25 th birthday. It wouldn’t have been fair to you. In my heart, David, we were married the day you proposed. Yes, I’m just having one of my many random thoughts and I wanted to clarify._

 Tears began to well up in his eyes as they often did when he read her letters. He knew exactly what she was talking about. He’d wanted to marry her anyway. Even though they both knew she was dying. She’d refused. It had hurt a lot, but somehow he understood.

_I want you to be happy..." the letter continued. "If that means finding a new love, then that’s what I want you to do. I know what you’re thinking. Stop it. There is someone else out there for you. I truly believe that things happen for a reason. Someday someone will love you exactly as I do, and you should embrace it. Don’t be afraid to love them back. I know it will be hard, but you need to do it. For yourself...and in a way, for me._

 Hot tears were now streaming down his cheeks. How could he possibly love someone else? Ever?

_The love of your life may be standing right in front of you. You must never shut it out. Well, baby, I’m getting tired. I should join you in bed, but I’m afraid I’ll wake you up, and you look so peaceful. Anyway, as always....I love you. <3 Cassie_

_PS: You will hear from me again....soon._

 David gently folded the letter and put it in the top drawer of his night stand with all the other letters and gifts from her. As he closed the drawer with a heavy heart, there was a knock on the door.

He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. He smiled opening the door to Archie. "Hey, Arch."

The huge smile that Archie was wearing quickly dissipated as he took in the sight that was David Cook. "Cook?" he asked, tentatively as he stepped into the room. "You ok?"

David nodded. "I’m fine."

"You don’t look fine. Did something happen?"

David walked back into the room. He was debating with himself whether or not he should tell Archie about the letters. Surely he would think he had lost his marbles. BUT then again, Archie had listened to him like no one else had in a long time. Perhaps he could share it with him. "I got a letter today." he said, feeling his stomach turn into a fluttering mess.

"A letter?" Archie asked as he sat down on Michael’s bed. "From home?" Archie was afraid that something had gone wrong with David’s family or something.

David shook his head. "No. From Cassie."  
  
Archie furrowed his brow. He looked at the photo on the night stand. "Cassie?"

David sighed and laid back on his own bed, staring at the ceiling. "Yeah. Before she died, she came up with this idea that is supposed to help me cope." He felt the edge of the bed sink in as Archie sat down beside of him. "She wrote all these letters and notes and made a bunch of DVDs and other things. She then recruited someone to help her. To be her delivery person after she was gone. I get them randomly."

Archie smiled softly. That was so romantic....and kinda morbid, but sweet none the less. "Do they help?"

"I guess. I usually feel like shit for a while at first, but when I’ve had time to process it all, I do feel better. I look forward to them, really. This one is different though."

"How so?" Archie asked, sensing that the older David need to talk.

"This is the first time she’s mentioned me moving on." He reached up and wiped a stray tear away. He didn’t know why, but he felt comfortable letting Archie see his emotional side. "I’m afraid that she’s almost ready to say goodbye, and then they’ll stop coming." He sat up. "And then I’ll have to really accept the reality that she’s really gone."

Archie reached out and draped a comforting arm over David’s shoulders. "She’ll always be with you, Cook."

"I know," he hiccuped softly. "I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to pour my heart out to ya."

Archie smiled warmly and handed him a tissue from the box on the night stand. "It’s ok. That’s what friends are for."

"Thank you."

After several moments, David was back to himself and held out his hand, showing Archie the guitar pick. "She sent this with her letter."

Archie reached out and picked it up from the palm of David’s hand. "A guitar pick."

"Yeah. She took it the night we met. As a keepsake. I didn’t know about it until now."

Archie smiled brightly. "That’s cool," he said as he inspected the pick.

"Yeah." David got up and went to Michael’s bed. "So, you brought monopoly?"

"Yeah. After last time, I thought you might want to redeem yourself."

David’s mouth dropped open. "Ohh. Archie, I’m hurt."

"Well honestly. You play with your real money like that and you’ll be bankrupt before we even get to start the tour," he said playfully.

"You were just lucky the last time."

Archie shrugged. "If that makes you feel better."

"When did you get so cocky?"

Archie’s eyes grew wide. "I’m not!"

David nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, you are." He sat back down on his bed and put the game between them. "The car is mine."

"But..."

"Shh! You’re not even old enough to drive."

Archie glared at him. "Am too."

David grinned, letting the younger one know that he was only joking.

*****

A couple of hours later, Michael returned. He groaned when he saw the scene before him. Archie and David were both sound asleep on David’s bed. Apparently they’d fallen asleep while playing monopoly.

He walked closer to see Archie curled up at the foot of the bed, still clutching his play money. While David was on the other side of the board at the head of the bed, laying halfway on top of the messed up game board.

Michael shook his head and laughed softly. Perhaps they should think about different room mates. But, however annoyed he was that this kind of thing happened quite frequently, he was also grateful that the younger boy was there to keep Cook from drowning in his own sorrow. He needed the boy.


	5. Chapter Five

Mariah Carey week. David looked over the song list and was happy to see that the song that he wanted had not been chosen. "Which one are you doing?" Brooke asked.

"Always Be My Baby," he replied.

She nodded. "Good song. Mariah’s hard to sing.

"Yeah. You doing ok with your arrangement?"

"Yeah." She looked around. "You seen Archie?"

"A few minutes ago. He went to find his dad, I think." David’s cell phone rang. Excuse me," he pulled his phone from his pocket. "Hello?"

"It’s Mariah week. Are you going to do it?"

"Yes. And hello to you, little brother."

"Sorry. Hi. Are you sure about that?"

"I’ve already made my choice. I’ll be fine."

"Ok. Just lookin’ out for you bro."

"I know." He chatted for a whle longer wih his brother before he had to go meet with the band to discuss the arrangement.

 

****

David Archuleta sat down in the left wing of the orchestra seating, watching David Cook rehearse. Jason joined him. "Hey, small stuff."

Archie looked up. "Hey, Jayce."

"That’s an awesome arrangement, yeah?"

"Yes," Archie agreed. "Sounds great."

David finished his rehearsal without a hitch. However, he didn’t stick around to talk to anyone. He immediately left. His mind was in a million different places. He had met Mariah the day before and that gave him a chance to get her opinion on what he had done with her song. Of course he had been praying the whole time that she didn’t hate it. She didn’t. In fact she was quite surprised and gave him praise for making it his own.

So why was he in such a mood? He sighed as he made his way out of the building and into the car that was waiting for him. Maybe doing this particular song was a bad idea. He should have listened to Andrew. It had too many memories attached to it. But then again, that was the reason he wanted to do it. It was because of Cassie that he was even on American Idol. He wanted to do something in her honor.

Archie watched as David left rehearsal he’d saw the look in his eyes when he sang. He was thinking about Cassie. That had to be it. Perhaps he’d got another letter. Or maybe it was because Michael had been voted off on Wednesday. He’d have to stop by his room later. Hopefully he could talk to him.

****

It was late when Archie finished up with his own rehearsal. He headed straight to David’s room. However, David & Carly met him in the hallway. "Hey, Archie!" Carly greeted.

"Hey, Carly. Cook." He smiled brightly. "Where ya going?"

"Down to the bar," Carly said. She didn’t miss the disapproving look that Archie gave David. "Davey, I’ll meet you down there."

David nodded and waved her off. He looked at Archie. "I need a drink Archie," David said, unsure why he had to explain himself. "We’ll hang out later. K?"

Archie nodded. Who was he to tell David what to do anyway. He was just naive kid. "Yeah. Later. Have fun." He forced a smiled and turned to walk to his own room, just down the hall.

David stood in the hallway waiting for him to go inside. When Archie was out of sight he went on toward the elevators.

 

****

A couple of hours later Archie awakened to the sound of a soft knocking sound on his door. He switched on the small lamp by his bed. He glanced over at his father who was sound asleep in the other bed with a pillow over his head. He got up and padded to the door in his light blue and white striped pj pants and Harry Potter tee shirt. He looked out the peep hole to see Carly.

Hurriedly, he grabbed the key card from the stand and opened the door, slipping out into the hallway. "Carly?" He noticed how she was holding her arms across her chest rubbing them nervously. "What’s wrong?"

"Oh, Archie," she began. "It’s Dave. I...I dunno what happened. He was fine, but after a few drinks he just started crying and mumbling something about someone named Cassie and his Mariah song and he’s a mess!"

Archie stared at her with wide eyes.

"I thought maybe you could help. You seem to be closer to him that any of the rest of us. I have no idea what he’s talking about."

That comment made tugged at Archie’s heart. He nodded and started walking toward David’s room. "Do you have his key?" Carly handed it to him. "Thanks."

They both went inside, finding David curled up in the fetal position on his bed clinging to a pillow. Archie could tell he was crying without having to see the tears. His body shook slightly and he had a death grip on that pillow. "Cook?" Archie whispered softly, walking closer to the bed. When he received no reply, he reached out and touched his shoulder slightly. "David?"

Finally, David looked up. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy. Archie wasn’t sure if that was from the crying or the alcohol. "C’mere," Archie said, sitting down next to him. David was immediately in his arms, crying his heart out. It was weak of him, he knew, but Archie was the only person in LA who knew what he was going through. Everyone always assumed his sometimes sad demeanor was because of his older brother’s condition. Of course no one ever asked. And he didn’t tell them differently.

Carly stood by the wall and watched as the younger David took the other one into his arms, holding him tightly. She noticed how gently Archie put his hand on David’s hair and stroked soothingly. She couldn’t even get David to acknowledge that she was in the room once he had taken up residence on the bed. Then her heart nearly stopped as the older one clutched the younger one’s tee shirt in his fist and wailed. "Why, Archie....why did she have to leave me?" He asked, tears streaming down his face. "Why did she have to die?"

She stood there in shock for a moment as Archie talked soothingly to David. Then she caught a glance at the picture on the stand beside of David’s bed. She walked over and picked it up, looking at the woman in the picture. She shot Archie a questioning look when he raised his head. He nodded, answering her unspoken question ‘Was this Cassie?’ Carly gently set the picture back down and moved to sit on the bed with them, tears filling her own eyes. She put her hand on David’s shoulder, understanding the amount of pain he must be in and why Archie was the only one he felt he could turn to. Archie, though it be he was only 17, knew a thing or two about comforting. And he knew a thing or 100 about God and why he works the way he does. Of all the Idol contestants, Archie was probably the one to talk to. Well, him or Brooke.

Carly stayed there for a while before she finally felt that Archie was doing just fine alone. Then she excused herself to go back to her room. She left the room quietly and walked slowly down the corridor.

****

The next morning David awoke with a splitting head ache. One that he hadn’t experienced in a long time. That’s what happens when you drink so much after being completely sober for so long. He groaned as he tried to open his eyes against the harsh light that filtered through the window. As he started move the rest of his body he tensed up feeling another body against his. Actually he was being spooned by someone. His heart began to pound and he tried his best to recall the night before. He felt tears begin to well up in his eyes when he realized he couldn’t remember. He laid there for a moment, not wanting to face his worst fear. That’s when it dawned on him that he was still fully clothed. That made his heart slow down a little. Nothing had happened.

He was even more relieved when he heard the voice of the person holding him. "Cook?" Archie whispered. "You awake?"

David closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, Archie. I’m awake."

Archie carefully moved his body away from David’s and sat up. David rolled to his back and squinted up at Archie. "Could you please get me some Tylenol and a glass of water?"

Archie nodded and scrambled off the bed and into the bathroom. When he returned, David was sitting up on the edge of the bed, rubbing his sore eyes. "Here."

David took the pills and the water from Archie and downed them quickly. When he was done, he set the glass on the stand and looked back up at Archie who was still standing in front of him. "What the hell happened last night, Arch?"

Archie sat down on the bed across from David’s. "You went down to the bar with Carly. The next thing I knew she was at my room, asking me to come help ‘cause you were a mess."

"A mess?"

"Yeah. I think it had something to do with Cassie, because you drank way too much and just broke down and started crying and talking about her."

Leave it to Archie to be blatantly honest. "In front of Carly?"

Archie nodded. "Did you get another letter?"

David shook his head. "No....it’s the song."

"The song?" Archie was slightly confused.

"Always Be My Baby."

"Oh..."

"Yeah. This is not the first time I’ve done that song. While we were still in college, she and I had a huge fight and actually broke up. I knew she would still frequent the clubs with her friends so I rearranged the song and played it for her one night. Oddly enough it had the desired effect. We got back together." He stared at the floor, his mind going back in time.

****Flashback****

He finished his set and walked off the stage, ducking into the small room where the band was allowed to get ready. He was putting his guitar in his case when he felt a hand on his shoulder. As he turned his breath caught in his throat, seeing her there. She had tears in her eyes. "I’m sorry," she whispered.

David gave her a ‘deer in the headlight’ look and turned around to completely face her. "No! I’m sorry." He said quickly. "I shouldn’t have said those things to you."

"We both said things that we shouldn’t have." She put her head down. "I can’t believe I thought I could leave you."

"I love you, Cass."

She nodded. "I know. David, I was scared. I’ve never been in this kind of relationship and I felt overwhelmed. Can we just....I don’t know... take things a little slower?"

David nodded. "I’ll do whatever it takes, Cass."

She smiled and threw her arms around him, clinging to him with all her might. "I love you, Cookie."

He smiled and slipped his arms around her. Only she could get away with calling him Cookie.

****End Flashback****

Archie listened intently as David told him more about Cassie and more about what the song meant to him, including how she had used it in her first DVD to him. He wished he had known Cassie. She seemed like someone he would love.

"Archie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. Again. I really appreciate everything that you’ve done for me. I mean you shouldn’t be this nice to your competition."

Archie smiled. "I don’t see you as competition. I see you as my friend who I care about." He laughed uneasily when he felt his face begin to flush. "I hope you feel the same way about me."

David grinned that lopsided grin that only he could make look sexy when he was hung over and depressed. He nodded his head. "I do, Archie. I think of you as one of my closest friends, actually. I don’t keep a lot of people this close to me, ya know."

Archie smiled. "Oh...Gosh....Thanks."

David laughed softly despite his headache. "You are too much, Archie."

 


	6. Chapter Six

Archie stood off to the side as David finished his performance. It as absolute perfection. His smile only broadened as he listened to the judges’ comments. Especially Simon’s. He said something about Karaoke hell and a breath of fresh air.

David felt his legs wobbling a little as he listened to Simon, Randy, and Paula’s opinions. His heart wanted to jump right out of his chest. He was incredibly happy at that moment.

"You have tears," Ryan said, somewhat surprised.

David looked at him with a smile and nodded. "Yeah...."

*****

David left the stage feeling elated as he walked toward wardrobe. "You did it!" He heard an excited voice behind him. He turned and saw Archie smiling brightly.

"Yeah, Arch," he responded with a smile mirroring the younger one’s. "I did it."

"And Mariah said you could have a hit with your rendition. How cool was that?!"

David laughed, still in awe. "Pretty darn cool." He started to turn back toward wardrobe, but then stopped. "By the way, you did an awesome job out there tonight. They loved you."

Archie’s eyes shined as David paid him a compliment. "Thanks, Cook."

David nodded and turned on his heal to be on his way.

"Hey Cook?"

He stopped and looked back. "Yeah, Arch?"

"You gonna be around tonight?"

He wrinkled his nose. "No. I am going to spend some time with my mom and my brother and..." he was nearly knocked down by the weight of Carly’s body jumping on him.

"Davey! You did an awesome job!" She kissed his cheek. "I’m so proud!"

Archie stood there shaking his head, amused by the look on David’s face.

"Hi, Carly." She smiled. "Thank you." They had spoken briefly about the events a few nights earlier. David had thanked her for being there and for not asking questions. He just explained that his fiancee had passed away and he was still healing. He appreciated the fact that she didn’t act all sympathetic toward him. In fact, she even started to laugh at his corny jokes. She understood that it was his way of getting things off of his mind.

"You’re welcome. Your family was in tears."

"I know."

"She’s proud of you," she finally said, wrapping her arms around him.

David felt himself getting choked up. He took a deep breath, and looked at Archie as he returned Carly’s hug. Archie smiled and nodded. David smiled also. He was going to get through this. With his friends and family.

*****

When David finally made it back to his hotel after the show, he was greeted in the lobby by his brother. "Everyone is waiting for you," he said.

"I know. I didn’t mean to keep everyone waiting. Last minute stuff, ya know?"

"Yeah, it’s cool. Mom is keeping everyone quite entertained. Addison is so happy that she’s going to get to see you."

"I can’t believe you guys brought her. She hasn’t fallen asleep yet?"

"No. She’s wide awake."

David smiled and jogged toward the elevator. He was so happy to be getting a chance to spend some time with his family.

Andrew smiled and shook his head. "In a hurry?"

"I miss her."

"She misses you too."

The elevator couldn’t go fast enough to the 12th floor. He entered the room to find his Mom and Addison sitting on the bed playing with a pile of toys. On the sofa, he saw his aunt and uncle and several other family members. "I’m here!"

The little girl sitting on the bed squealed, noticing David. Her toys were soon forgotten as she carefully climbed off the bed and ran to him with open arms. He crouched down to her level and held out his arms as she ran into them, flailing her little body against his. He hugged her tightly as he stood. "How is my most favorite little girl in the world?"

She smiled brightly up at him. "Miss you!"

He felt more tears welling up in his eyes. God, he needed to stop being such a cry baby. "I missed you too, Addy." He buried his face in her long dark curls.

David’s aunt smiled. "She watched you on TV tonight. She was more excited to see you than she was about meeting Mickey Mouse at Disney Land this afternoon."

David smiled. "Did you meet Mickey?"

She raised her head from his shoulder and nodded. "And Minnie!"

"I missed all of you guys so much!" David said looking around the room. "Thank you for coming."

"Adam wanted to come, but..."

David shook his head. "I know. I talked to him today." He understood. He in no way expected his brother to make another trip to see him. It was too much. He was just grateful that he’d been able to see him perform live at least once.

The rest of the night was spent catching up with everyone and on the hometown gossip. He really didn’t want the night to end. He felt happy at the moment. He knew that as soon as the show was over the next night, if he didn’t get eliminated, they would all be heading back to Missouri. And he didn’t know when he would get the chance to see them all again. Then he would be right back where he was.

 

 

*****

David burst into a fit of laughter as Archie addressed the reporter’s questions about girls and being a sex symbol. He still had tears of laughter in his eyes when Archie was done. "Geez, Archie. That was on the verge of saying ‘eww girls are yucky!’ Are you afraid of cooties too?"

"Cooties?"

That called for more laughter from the older David. "Seriously." He arched his brow as Archie shrugged. "How sheltered are you?"

"Very."

"I can believe that," David said as Archie sat down on the chair beside of him while Jason went up for his Q & A.

"Is....That bad?"

David shrugged. "No. Not bad. Just funny."

"Why’s it funny?"

"Because I have never met someone so genuinely innocent in my life...well other than Cass."

Archie furrowed his brow. Where he came from, most everyone was like him. It was their lifestyle. He hadn’t really thought of it being too different from the rest of the world. "Really?"

"Yes. Her family was deeply religious. She wasn’t allowed to do a lot of stuff that normal kids were, so when she went to college, she wanted to try new things. She started out by going to clubs with her friends and having a little fun. Somehow through it all, she kept her innocence in tact...until she met me, that is." He smirked. "I never will forget the first time I met her mom. She nearly croaked on the spot."

"Why?"

David looked pointedly at the boy. "Their daughter was an angel. I was the exact opposite. I showed up dressed in black wearing a KISS t-shirt, chains, and eyeliner."

Archie gasped. "No way! My parents would die if I showed up with someone like you!"

David shot him a glare. "Geez, Archie. I’m not THAT bad."

Archie stared at him with wide, apologetic eyes as he stumbled for worlds. "Well...No..I didn’t.." he groaned at his own awkwardness. "I didn’t mean it the way it sounded."

David snorted and laughed inwardly at Archie’s horrified expression. He loved this kid. "It’s cool," He said. "I know I’m not as righteous as I should or could be."

Archie frowned. "I meant, you’re just different from what my family is used to. My parents would have strokes if they heard me cuss or say anything vulgar."

"Cass used to threaten me. She’d say: The next time I hear you say that word, I’m going to wash you mouth out with soap."

Archie giggled. "Did you listen?"

"Fu-Heck no. I would look her directly in the eyes and say it again."

"Wha! Did she get mad?"

David shook his head. "Nah. She secretly loved my dirty mouth."

With a roll of his eyes Archie got up from his seat. "Come on. Let’s get lunch."

David stood and followed Archie into the next room where all the catered food was located. "You know, I’m surprised your dad lets you hang out with me."

"Why wouldn’t he?"

David shrugged. "Cause I might corrupt you or something."

"Hardly." He grabbed a plate and began filling it. "I know stuff, ya know?"

That shocked David Cook. "Really? What kind of stuff?"

Archie shrugged. "Ya know...stuff. About girls and things."

David grinned. Maybe Archie wasn’t as innocent as he thought. He nearly snorted when that thought crossed his mind. Who was he kidding? Of course he was. Just then they were interrupted by one of the crew members.

"Cook, there is someone here to see you."

David looked up to see one of his best friend’s standing at the door. His mouth fell open. "Dude! What are you doing here?!" He put his plate down and practically ran to the other man.

Archie watched in awe as the two men embraced. He tried to remember if he’d ever seen him before. He watched as they talked for a moment before they both began walking toward him.

"Hey, Arch?" David said. "I want you to meet someone." He smiled brightly as he approached him. "This is Andy. Andy, this is David Archuleta. Archie, as we call him."

"Hi!" Andy greeted holding out his hand to Archie.

Archie quickly found a spot to set the plate he was holding and wiped his hands on his jeans. "Hi!" He replied taking Andy’s hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You too, Dave has told me a lot about you."

Archie’s eyes left Andy to look at David. "Really?"

"Yep. He admires you, kid."

Archie grimaced inwardly at being called a kid, but hid it well with a nervous giggle. "Wow..."

David slapped an arm around Andy’s shoulders. "Andy here is like my BFF! We were in a band together."

"Oh!" Archie smiled brightly. "Cool." He picked his plate back up. "You want something to eat?"

Andy smiled politely and declined. "Oh!" He turned to David and reached in his back pocket. "I almost forgot. This is for you." He handed him a folded piece of paper.

David took the sheet of paper, eyeing it suspiciously. Surly Andy wasn’t in on Cassie’s plan. He carefully unfolded it, relieved to find a multitude of colored, squiggly lines.

Andy grinned. "Compliments of Addison."

David laughed. "Thanks, man."

"Who is Addison?" Archie asked.

"Only the cutest, most sweetest little girl in the world," Andy replied.

David nodded in agreement and picked his plate up once more. "You sure you don’t’ want anything?"

Andy raised a brow and shook his head. "No thanks."


	7. Chapter Seven

The night that he sang “Music of the Night,” David went back to his room to find mail. He’s received a package containing a DVD. It, like so many others had her writing all over it. He smiled. Perfect timing. Maybe that would help take his mind off of the result night ahead of him.

David laid the DVD aside while he showered and got ready for a late night undoubtedly alone in his room.

When he finally settled into his bed, he was armed with his laptop and a Corona. He put the DVD on and leaned back against the mound of pillows he’d piled against the headboard.

_“Hey, Cookie!” Came her cheerful voice. “Look who’s here with me!” She gushed, holding up the tiny baby in her arms. “Say hi, Addie!”_

David smiled at her baby talk and how she picked up Addison’s tiny hand to wave.

_“We were bored while you’re at work, so we decided to make a video.”_

David’s mind once again went back in time while she told stories about what they had done that day, and continued to talk to Addison. His heart ached as he thought about what a great mom she would have been if she had just been given the chance. _“Alright, aside from this random video, Addison and I did do something constructive today. We had an impromptu photo shoot! Wanna see them? Yeah, you know you do!” She giggled and hugged Addison to her. “I’m attaching a slide show at the end of this video. It’s to you with lots of love from your two favorite women!” She blew a kiss to the camera and waved. “Bye, Baby! Enjoy the pictures. Love ya!”_

As the screen faded to black, LeAnn Rimes’ song “But I Do Love You” began to play and soon the pictures started showing up, each with animations and captions. David knew that this video was made early on. She still looked healthy and Addison couldn’t have been more than 2 months old. He tossed the empty beer bottle to the side and made himself more comfortable on the bed.

The next thing he knew, his alarm clock was going off. He sat up quickly, looking around. He spotted his laptop on the nightstand along with that empty bottle that he’s tossed aside. He didn’t remember putting it there, but he must have. Right?

The phone rang. David reached over and turned the alarm off before picking up his cell phone. “Hello?”

“Cook? Where are you? We’re supposed to be there in 20 minutes.”

For the first time since waking up David actually looked at the clock. “Shit!” He slapped his hand over his mouth. “Sorry. Give me a few minutes. You in the lobby?”

“Yeah. Everyone else already left.”

“Ok. Be there in just a few.”

“Alright, hurry up.”

With in ten minutes, David was in the lobby jogging up to Archie and his dad. “Sorry, I overslept. You didn’t have to wait for me.”

“No. It’s cool. Dad called ahead to let them know we were running a little behind.”

“Oh.” David gave Jeff a grateful look. “Thanks.”

Jeff gave David a polite nod before heading toward the doors.

Archie and David followed only steps behind, heading out to the car. “You must have been really tired last night.”

David nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”

“I stopped by around 11:30. You were out.”

“Oh..” he’d forgotten that Archie had the extra key to his room now. “Sorry. I…”

“It’s ok. I turned your computer off and put it on the stand. I was afraid it might fall off the bed.”

“Thanks. I wondered how it got there.”

Archie grinned. “I…Uh…” he began as they got into the back seat of the car while Jeff sat up front. “I couldn’t help but notice the picture on the desktop.”

David felt a lump rise in his throat.

“Who was with Cassie?”

“Oh!” David let out his breath. “That was Addison when she was just a baby.”  
Archie smiled. “She’s cute.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Cass sent…Um…I got a DVD in the mail yesterday.”

“You ok?”

David nodded. “I am…good.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Archie said with his most sincere smile.

*****

That same night was quite sorrowful. Carly was voted off and that cast a cloud over both Davids. Then over the next two weeks, Brooke left and so did Jason.

“We get to go home for a few days!” Syesha said enthusiastically on the way back to the hotel with the rest of AI’s top 3.

“Yeah,” Archie said, beaming. “I am so excited.”

“What about you, Cook?” Syesha asked the older man as he sat somewhat solemnly looking out the window.

He nodded. “I can’t wait.” the truth of the matter was, he was afraid to go back. The fact that he might not want to return to idol was on his mind. Of course he also knew that his family would never allow that. He just knew that going back for a few days would make him want to stay there.

 

*****

The trip home had been bittersweet. David was overwhelmed by the amount of support people were giving him. He found himself moved to tears on more than one occasion. Now he was sitting in his Mom’s kitchen eating French fries with Andrew and Addison. “So, what do you think is going to happen this week?” Andrew asked.

“I have no idea. American can be weird sometimes.”

“Yeah. You think that Archie kid will be eliminated?”

David shook his head quiet quickly. “No way.”

“Really?”

“Really.” David assured his brother as he popped a fry into his mouth. “If he does, America is nuts.”

“You’ve become close to him, haven’t you?”

David shrugged. “I guess. He’s a good kid, ya know. Keeps me company. He and I have amazing conversations.”

“How? He seems so….so….gushy.”

“Gushy?” David laughed. “At first, yeah. After he gets comfortable he’s more mellow. I can talk to him about Cassie, and he doesn’t judge me.”

“He knows about Cassie?”

“Yeah.”

“How much does he know?”

“That we were engaged. That she died, and he knows about the letters and stuff.”

“Oh.”

David remained quiet for a few moments, watching Addison swirl her fry in ketchup. “Ya know, it’s been over a year now.”

Andrew nodded. “I know.”

“Do you think it’s too soon for me to start dating again?”

Andrew watched his brother trying to figure him out. “I guess not. Why?”

“I dunno. I just… well there is this chick that I thought about asking out…well, it was the producers’ idea actually, but um…I was considering it.”

“Who is she?”

“Kimberly Caldwell. She was on idol for season two. Now she does that show with that Justin guy from season one.”

“Oh, dude! I know who you’re talking about. She always has a lot to say about you. I’d say she has a crush.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You should totally ask her out. What could it hurt, Dave? It’s really the only way to find out if your ready to move on.”

Addison tapped on David’s shoulder. “Yeah. Addie?”

“I wanna go play.”

He nodded. “After you finish you lunch.”

The little girl frowned. “I’m full.”

“You can’t be full. You’ve only ate like 2 fries.”

She sighed and propped her head up on her hand and picked up a French fry with her other hand. “Meanie.”

“Hey!” Andrew scolded lightly. “What has Grandma told you about calling people names?”

She rolled her eyes. “She said not to do it.”

“Because it’s not nice,” David agreed. “Now, eat a bit more and I’ll take you to the park. Ok?”

She grinned widely. “Ok!”

David ruffled her dark hair, smiling. “That was easy.”

“I love going to the park!” Addison reminded him before she went back to eating.

*****

Now here they were on elimination night already. He wasn’t as nervous as he probably should have been. When Ryan announced that Archie would be moving on to the finale, he felt proud of the boy. It was an odd feeling. But what made his night was when he found out he would be joining him. Nothing against Syesha, of course, but knowing that he and Archie would be making it to the end together made him happy.

*****

“The finale! Gosh, can you believe it, Cook?” Archie asked excitedly as they entered David’s room. “You mind if I hang out for a while?”

“Not at all.” David welcomed the company. “I knew that you would be in the finale ever since you sang ‘Imagine’.”

Archie blushed. “Really? Wow.” He saw a packet of pictures laying on the stand nearby. “Oooh are those from your visit home?”

David nodded. “Yeah.”

“Can I see?”

“Sure,” David replied. “I’m going to get some ice.”

“Ok.” Archie made himself comfy on the sofa and began looking through the pictures.

David walked down the hallway to the ice machine. He felt happy with how things were going in his life at the moment. He’d actually conjured up the guts to ask Kimberly out. On national television, no less. He was chuckling to himself when he nearly ran into Jeff.

“David,” the older man greeted. “Congratulations on making the Finale. I knew it would be you up there with David.”

David smiled. “Thanks. I’m happy it’s Archie I’m up against, actually. He really ups the competition for me.”

Jeff smiled. “He adores you, David. He told me that you’re going to win.”

David was floored. “What? Archie is underestimating himself if that’s the case. I have no problem taking second to him.”

Jeff shrugged. “May the best David win.”

“Yeah…I guess, huh?”

“Do you know where he is now?”

“Oh. Yeah. He’s in my room. We’re going to hang our for a while, if that’s cool with you, I mean.”

“It’s fine. I was just wondering where he was.”

“Oh. Well, um…I’m going to get some ice, so I’ll be seeing you later.”

Jeff nodded and started to walk away. “Oh and David!”

David turned back toward Jeff.

“Thank you.”

“For?”

“Hanging out with David. You’ve done wonders for his character. He’s slowly coming out of his shell and becoming more comfortable with who he is.”

“Oh…” David, the self proclaimed ‘word nerd’ was at a loss for words. “I enjoy hanging out with Archie, sir.”

“Goodnight, David.”

As they parted ways, David tried to shake the weird feeling that had come over him. He hadn’t really thought about what it meant battling it our with Archie in the finale. Suddenly he found himself not wanting to win, but at the same time he knew that was ridiculous.

When he made it back to the room, Archie was sitting on the sofa where he’d left him. The pictures were in a stack beside of him while he flipped through the channels on the TV.

“Honey! I’m home!” David called as he entered the room, causing Archie to giggle. “I just ran into your dad. He wondered where you were. I told him I had no idea. I last saw you heading into the bar with a bunch of call girls.”

Archie stared at him with a mortified expression. “Cook!” He gasped.

David couldn’t keep his straight face any longer and began to laugh. “If you could see your face! Relax, Arch. I told him you were here.”

Archie visibly relaxed. “Those were good pictures of you and you family,” Archie said as David picked them up and plopped himself down on the sofa with him. He began to flip through them even though he had seen them a thousand times already. “This is Addison,” he said, holding up one of several of him and the little girl.

“Wow. She’s beautiful.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m assuming she’s family, because she kinda looks like you.”

David looked down quickly, deciding what to say. He sighed and shrugged. “Nah. She’s all her mom.”

Archie smiled. “Cassie?”

“How did you figure that?” David asked, staring wide eyes at the boy next to him.

Archie shrugged his shoulders. “She looks a little bit like you. She has your eyes, but the rest of her is the mirror image of Cassie. It’s the only explanation I could come up with.”

David sighed. “No one here knows about her. Not even the producers and other people of importance.”

“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you.” He stared at the picture for a moment. “I just didn’t want her mixed up in all of this. Not yet anyway.”

“I understand,” Archie sympathized. “Media would be all over it, and then they’d dig for information on her mom and you don’t need that.”

David was actually surprised when Archie rationalized the way he had. “Exactly.”

“How old is she?”

“She will be 2 on the thirtieth.”

“Oh! Wow. Um…when Cassie…”

“She was nine months old. Having Addison was actually how they discovered the cancer. When she was nursing.”

“Oh.”

“She has a fascination with music,” David laughed, holding up the picture of Addison at a piano. “Oh! And she is a big fan of you.”

Archie grinned broadly. “Awe! Really?”

“Yeah. Sometimes I think she likes you more than me.”

“That’s not possible. I can tell from the pictures that she adores you.” Archie said. “Has she been staying with your family while you’re here?”

“Some. She’s been going back and forth between my mom and Cassie’s mom.”

“Oh.” Archie became quiet as David continued to look at the pictures again. “David?”

“Yeah, Arch?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, Arch,” he replied, still flipping through the photos. “What is it?”

“Um… Are you really…I mean… are you really goingtogooutwithkimberly?”

David cocked his head to the side and looked at Archie who was blushing like never before. “Well…we’ve talked about it. Yes. Why?”

“I dunno. I just. I just wondered,” he began. “I mean, you’re still… don’t take this the wrong way, but still not over Cassie and…”

“Arch…” David interrupted, not wanting to hear this.

“I’m sorry. I just…how can you…” He stopped, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

David stared at him in shock. He had no idea that this had affected David that way. “Archie, are you ok?”

“I don’t know. I feel like…you’ve told me so much about her and I feel like I knew her. And I know that is totally weird, but I just don’t think it’s time.”

David turned on the couch so that he could face Archie better. “How can I know when the time is right Archie?” He asked, feeling like a total ass. “I need to at least go on a date, see how it feels. Ya know? I love Cassie and I always will. She’s a part of me. I’m not going to forget her.”

“I know…” Archie felt humiliated. He should have just kept his mouth shut. Stayed out of it. But there was more to it. More reasons why he was so upset with the idea of David dating another woman.

“I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have unloaded everything on to you the way I have.”

Archie shook his head. “No! I didn’t mind. I like hearing your stories.”

“But, Archie. You’re so young, you don’t need all this. You’re just a kid.”

Archie glared at him and stood up. “I’m not a kid! Don’t call me a kid. I’m seventeen years old!”

David was completely taken aback by the way Archie was talking to him. He’d never saw this side of him before. He wasn’t sure that he liked it. “Archie, I’m sorry!” He apologized as he too stood up. “I didn’t mean it.”

“Yes you did. That’s what you think about me. That’s what everyone thinks about me! Ohh what does he know? He’s just a kid!” Archie fumed and began walking towards the door. “Well screw all of you! I’m not a kid!”

David stood in stunned silence. Did Archie just say screw? He finally made his body move when he saw Archie reaching for the door handle. “Archie, wait!” He stopped him, grabbing his hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I don’t think of you as a kid. I swear.”

Archie looked up at the older man with tears in his eyes. “Then how do you think of me?”

David let out an exhausted sigh. “God, Archie… You’ve been the one person who I could count on through this whole charade. If I was having a problem or just a bad day, I knew that I could come to you and you would make it better. I love you, Archie. You’re like my best friend, man.”

Archie swallowed thickly, and really before he had time to think about what he was doing, his hands were on David’s face, cupping his cheeks as his mouth crashed against his.

Paralyzed, David stood with wide eyes as Archie kissed him. He was shocked to find himself moving to wrap his arms around the younger boy. And he was even more shocked to find himself returning the kiss.

After what seemed like an eternity, Archie pulled back, looking up at David with scared eyes. He quickly looked away, afraid of what he might see in David’s eyes. “I…I’m sorry. I think I should go.”

David didn’t say a word as he let go of Archie and watched him walk out the door.


	8. Chapter Eight

Meetings came way to early the next morning. David had not gotten one bit of sleep. He was too busy replaying the last year of his life over in his head. Trying to figure out exactly what had happened to lead to Archie kissing him. Finally, at around 6 am, he gave up trying to rationalize anything and went to take a hot shower, hoping to help him relax. It did not work. Therefore, when he walked into the meeting with the show’s producers, he looked like hell.

“David,” one of the producers asked. “You ok?”

David nodded, looking around the table. Archie was at the other end, looking intently at the piece of paper in his hand. David was a bit relieved to see that he looked about as bad as he did.

Luckily, all they had to discuss that morning was next week’s song selection. The meeting was fairly short.

However, the rest of the day was absolutely miserable. Every time David would get anywhere near Archie, the boy would dash off to another part of the building, his arrangements were not working, and he was getting grouchy. Finally, he just gave up and left the studio, saying that he was not feeling well. It wasn’t entirely a lie. He did feel terrible.

After hours of trying to sleep with no luck, David got out of bed and picked up his cell phone. He dialed a familiar number as he made himself comfortable on the sofa.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Viv.”

“Hi, Honey. How are you?”

“I’m good. Been busy.”

“Congratulations on the show last night.”

“Thanks.”

“I suppose you called for Miss. Addison?”  
  
"Yeah, she around?"  
  


“She’s playing with Penny. Hold on a moment and I will go get her.”

“Ok. Thanks, Viv.”

He waited for a moment before he heard a rustling sound over the line followed by the voice that he loved so much. “Daddy!”

The excitement in her voice warmed his heart. “Hey, Princess!”

“When you coming home?” she asked. “I miss you.”

“Soon, baby girl. I miss you too. You’re going to come see me next week. Did Grandma Viv tell you that?”

“Yes! Andy was here today!”

“He was?”

“Yeah. He brought me a doll baby.”

“Oh. Cool. Did you name her?”

“It’s a boy.”

“Oh. Did you name him?”

“Yeah.”

“Well…what did you name him?”

“Archie.”

David’s smile faltered slightly. His daughter loved him already and she hadn’t even met him yet. It was a tad bit overwhelming. Archie’s personality was certainly infectious. He groaned inwardly. He had to stop going off into la la land at the mere mention of the boy’s name. “Archie, huh?” He asked, sounding amused.

“Yeah,” she said excitedly. “You know Archie, Daddy?”

“Yeah. I know Archie.”

“Will I get to see him when I come see you?”

“Maybe.”

“Yay!!!!” She squealed, causing David to pull the phone away from his ear. He laughed as he heard her yell to Vivian. “Grandma! I get to see Archie!!!”

He shook his head, smiling brightly at her excitement. “So…what else have you been doing?”

“Playing.”

“How is Penny?”

“She’s ok. Daddy! You know what she did today?” She asked, sounding astounded.

“What did she do?”

“She knocked me down!” The little girl exclaimed, appalled by the rudeness of their dog.

“Oh no! Bad doggie!”

“Yeah. And it caused me to hit my head on the floor. And it hurt. And I cried.”

“Did Grandma kiss it all better?”

“Yeah… Daddy?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

He closed his eyes, feeling his heart swell. “I love you too, Princess. Daddy promises as soon as all of this is over, I’ll spend lots of time with you.”

“How long?”

“I don’t know, baby.”

“Ok..” she sighed.

“You know it’s just 6 more days until you get to come see me. Can you count to six?”

“Yeah. One…Two…Three…Four…Five…SIX!”

“Good job!”

“That’s a long time,’ she whined.

“No,” David assured her. “It’s less than a week.”

“Still a long time.”

“It’s really not. Tuesday will be here before you know it.”

“Ok…” she sighed.

“Alright. Listen, Honey. I have to go now. You be a good little girl for Grandma, ok?”

“Ok. Love you.”

“Love you too, Addie.”

When David hung up the phone, he felt even more depressed. He just wanted it all to be over. He didn’t want to spend another night in the hotel, another day in that rehearsal studio, or another minute alone with Archie. His feelings terrified him to no end. He knew he was probably being silly and that the kiss that they had shared, yes, shared, was only a moment of insanity brought on by emotions and stress and… He groaned, not really wanting to think about it anymore. It was impossible though. No matter what he did, he kept replaying it in his mind. He could still feel the boy’s mouth against his, caressing his lips softly. That soft tongue darting out to… “Arrrrh!!!!” David yelled as he stood up. He paced the floor, wanting nothing more than to be able to forget about it.

The sound of “Reasons” playing on his cell phone brought him out of his thoughts and ceased his pacing. He picked his phone up off the sofa and flipped it open. “Hello?”

“Where the hell are you, man?”

“Andy?”

“Yes. You told me to meet you outside the studio at 3:00. That Archie kid said you left early.”

“Oh shit! I’m sorry! I’m back at the hotel. I…”

“You stood me up. You asshole,” Andy teased.

“You can come here. We’ll order room service. I just…I’m having a rather bad day.”

“Uh. Oh. Ok. I’ll be there in a little while. Want me to bring cheesecake?”

A small smile tugged at the corners of David’s lips. “No. That’s ok.”

 

*****

“I have a problem.” David said as he opened the door to his friend.

“Well…Hello to you too, ole pal.”

“Sorry. Hi.” David stepped to the side and allowed him to come in before he closed the door.

“What’s your problem?” David suddenly found himself unable to say the words. “Well?”

“He kissed me.” David surprised himself with how fast he blurted that out. He ran his hands through his hair and turned around.

Andy pursed his lips in thought. “Who?”

“Archie.”

Andy’s eyes twinkled as he began to laugh. “I knew it! I knew he was gay. Your brother owes me twenty bucks. “

David stared at him in horror. “This is not funny you numb skull. He. Kissed. Me.”

“Oh…It’s funny. Trust me.”

David groaned, frustrated by his friend’s lack of compassion for his dilemma. “I kissed him back!” That shut Andy up quickly. “And,” David continued. “I think I liked it.”

Andy took a moment to consider what David had just told him. He walked over to the mini bar and grabbed a bottle from beneath the counter. “This is serious.”

“Yeah,” David squeaked. “What I’ve been saying!”

“He’s seventeen.”

“No shit. I’m aware of how old he is. I’m also aware of the fact that he’s a dude!”

Andy poured them each a drink and handed one to David. “Calm down. It’s not the end of the world.”

David took a long swig of his drink, wincing at the slight burn as the alcohol flowed down his throat. “Pretty damn close.”

“When’s the last time you got laid?”

“What?” David asked as if that were the most ridiculous question in the world. When he saw that Andy was actually serious, he sighed and retreated to the sofa. “Too long. I haven’t been with anyone other than my hand since Cassie.”

Andy nodded, feeling sympathetic towards his friend. “Well, there’s your explanation. You need to get laid.” He smirked and David rolled his eyes. “What about that chick? You know the one you asked out on TV.”

“Kim? We haven’t had a chance to go out. I’ve talked to her on the phone, but we haven’t planned anything concrete yet.”

“Well…”

“Andy, seriously. I’m not looking to get laid. I’m not even sure that I’m ready to date someone.”

“Seriously, Dave. You need to get laid. At least once. Other wise your hormones will continue to make you do weird things like kiss cute boys.”

David sighed. “I wish it were that simple.”

“It’s not?”

David shook his head slowly, looking somewhat terrified.

“Oh, boy…”

 

*****

After a long and enlightening talk with Andy, David felt better. In fact, he was on his way to Archie’s room, determined to talk. He knocked on the door and waited. When the door swung open, Archie looked surprised. “C-Cook!”

“Hey, Archie! Your dad around?”

“Um, no. He went to dinner with one of his friends.”

“Great. Can I come in?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He just walked by Archie, into the room.

“Sure…” Archie said, closing the door behind him. “I take it that you’re feeling better?”

“Yes. Much. We need to talk.”

“Wow,” Archie mumbled. “No beating around the bush with you, huh?”

“No. No point.” Archie took a slow, deep breath and went to sit on the sofa while David opted to sit on the coffee table in front of him. “About last night.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to kiss you. It just kind of happened,” Archie explained. “It was a stupid thing to do, and I hope that it hasn’t changed your opinion of me.”

David blinked, kind of surprised. He was not expecting an apology. That was not what he’d come here for, but everything that he had wanted to say to Archie was lost. He was just confused all over again. “No. Of course, it hasn’t. I was just a bit shocked. Hell, I’m still shocked, but I’ve calmed down. And don’t apologize, Archie.”

“But I shouldn’t have done that.”

After a moment’s consideration, David agreed. “No. No, you shouldn’t have, but it’s ok.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not mad, Archie,” David needed to assure the boy of that. “I kissed you back. If I’d been angry or anything like that, I wouldn’t have done that.”

Archie remained quiet for a moment. He’d half-expected David to yell and scream at him for doing such a stupid thing. He’d never given a thought to the fact that David had kissed him back. Rather passionately to be honest. He bit his lip and pondered what exactly that meant. “So, are we just going to pretend it never happened or what?”

David shook his head. “I can’t pretend that it never happened. I’ve been trying to all day.” David clapped his hand over his mouth, realizing what he’d just said. “Shit, Archie…that’s not what I meant…I…” the look on the boys face broke his heart. “Oh, God…”

Archie shook his head and held up a hand. “It’s ok.”

“No. No, it’s not. I didn’t mean to say it that way. I meant that I’ve been going nuts trying to figure it out and so I was trying to get it out of my mind. It’s not because it was, ya know…bad or something.” Archie furrowed his brow and gave David a questioning look.

“I’m not making this any better am I?”

David shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Arch. You just threw me through a loop. I love you, but…”

“It’s brotherly love. I get it, Cook,” Archie interrupted. “It’s ok. It was a kiss. Not like I want you to be my boyfriend or something. I let all of those freaking’ emotions get to me last night and…It won’t happen again. I promise.”

It took a moment for Cook to process all of that and for some reason, he felt slightly disappointed.

“Are we ok, Cook?” Archie asked, his eyes pleading softly with the older man’s. “Because I really like being friends and I hope I didn’t mess that up.”

David’s lips curled into a half smile. “Yeah, Arch. Of course we’re ok.” He moved to the sofa and hugged Archie. “It’s going to take a lot more than a kiss to get rid of me.”

Archie smiled, wrapping his arms around David as well. “Good.”

David finally pulled away moments later. “Well, I’m going back to my room. We have a long day tomorrow. Get some sleep Archie,” he said, ruffling Archie’s hair.

Archie smiled as David got up. “You too. You looked like crap today.”

David’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Hey!”

“I’m kidding.”

David smiled, nodding his head. “Goodnight, Archie.”

“Goodnight, Cook.” He said as David opened the door and slipped out of his room.


	9. Chapter Nine

The rest of the week went on as normal. David and Archie as well as the rest of the top 12 who were brought back for the big finale, worked hard to prepare for the big night.

When the big night finally came, David had to pretty much resign himself to taking second place to Archie. He had no problem with that. He was just looking forward to spending time with Addison after tonight’s show.

Archie on the other hand, though thrilled with what the judges had to say, he couldn’t believe that he’d done so much better than David. It was just impossible for him to fathom. He knew David was probably feeling terrible about it. They’d kind of gotten back to the way things were before the kiss. Archie was quite relieved. He decided to go talk to David. To give him his opinion on his performances. He went so far as to turn down dinner with his family to do so.

David opened the door after the third knock. “Archie!” David said with a huge grin. “What brings you here?”

“I wanted to talk to you. You know, about the show tonight. What Simon said. It wasn’t true. You were….”

David shook his head and waved him off. “Don’t. It’s ok. I’m not bothered by it.”

“Archie?” he heard his nickname squealed as a little girl with flowing dark ringlets came running up behind David. She smiled brightly as she wrapped her arms around her Dad’s leg, peeking around shyly.

“Oh, my Gosh! You must be Addie!” He said, squatting down to her level. “Hi.”

“Hi!” She giggled, and then looked up at David. “Daddy, it’s Archie.”

“I know, Princess. Come on you two. We need to get inside the room.”

“Oh! Yeah, of course!” Archie stood up quickly and slipped inside. David closed the door behind him. Archie looked around. “Gosh. I’m sorry. Looks like I’m interrupting…”

“No. Not at all. We were just having…”

“A tea party!” Addison chimed in. “You want to play, Archie?”

“I…” he looked at David wondering if he should just leave and let him spend time alone with his daughter.

“Come on Arch. We have plenty of tea. We even have cookies.”

Addison took his hand and looked up at him with her sparkling hazel eyes. “Please?”

Archie smiled down at the little girl. “Ok.”

She giggled and clapped her hands. “Yay!” She ran over to the spot on the floor where she had her tea set and dolls set up. She grabbed another pillow from the sofa and placed it on the floor by her. “You sit here.”

Laughing, Archie sat down on the pillow next to her. “Thank you!” He said as she handed him a cup.

“Daddy, sit!” She exclaimed pointing to David’s spot across from her.

He did as he was told. “What kind of tea are we having Addie?”

“Grape.”

“Wonderful. I love grape tea!”

Addison sighed. “I know! You already had two whole cups!”

David grinned as Archie looked at him with arched brows. “They’re small cups.”

The Davids indulged Addison for a while before she grabbed her doll baby and crawled up on her dad’s lap. “You sleepy?” David asked. She replied by shaking her head. David smiled, knowing that she was trying her best to stay awake. “Why don’t we watch a movie?”

“Ok!”

David got up, still holding her. He grabbed one of the few DVDs that were stuffed in Addison’s overnight bag. He asked her if it was a good choice and her eyes lit up. “Yeah!” David grinned and turned it on. Then he moved them to the sofa that Archie was leaning against. He lay down and Addison snuggled against him.

“Oh, I love this movie!” Archie said as the movie started.

David smiled, burring his face in his daughter’s hair. This had turned out to be a great night.

“I like Dory,” Addison said. “She’s funny.”

“I like Marlon,” David said, smiling at the little girl.

By the time the movie was over. Addison was sleeping peacefully against David’s chest with his arms wrapped protectively around her.

Archie smiled. “She’s adorable.”

David smiled lazily. “Thanks.”

“Thank you for letting me join your tea party.”

“Anytime,” he replied with a gentle laugh. “You were great tonight, by the way.”

Archie gasped. “Thanks. But Gosh. You were so much better. I mean…Simon…he’s wrong.”

David shrugged it off. “Nah. It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m perfectly happy where I’m at.”

David and Archie chatted for a while longer until Archie heard a soft snoring coming from the sofa. He looked back to see that David had fallen asleep. He watched them for a moment before getting up. He started to leave, but stopped when he saw a fleece blanket crumpled up on David’s bed. He picked it up and carefully tossed it over the sleeping pair on the sofa.

“Mmm,” the little girl stirred causing Archie to still his movements. She wiggled around a bit before breathing deeply. “G’night, Archie,” she mumbled without opening her eyes.

Archie smiled, biting his lip to stifle a giggle. “Goodnight, Addie.” He finished tucking the soft blanket around them then turned to go. He paused once more by the door to look at them again before flipping the lights off and closing the door gently as he left.

David opened his eyes in the dark as the door latch clicked. He sighed heavily reminding himself that he was seventeen and male. He felt hot tears of frustration welling up in his eyes. He was really beginning to hate how emotional he’d become. He was also beginning to hate his morals.

 

*****

The next day was intense. After he and Addison had breakfast in his room, his mom stopped by to take her so David could go to all the things that he needed to go do.

An hour later, he found himself sitting on the edge of the stage of the Kodiak, alone. He was just looking out at all the empty seats.

It was kind of bittersweet, knowing that this was the last night that he would be on stage as a part of a competition. He felt both relieved and remorseful.

“Hey, mate.” He heard as Michael Johns sat down on the stage beside of him. “Why so glum?”

“I dunno. Just thinking about everything.”

“Going to miss it huh?”

“Yeah,” David replied. “But at the same time, I’m glad this part is almost over.”

“Thank God for the tour, right?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Sharing such close quarters with you for such a long time is a bit frightening.”

“Davey! I’m hurt!”

David laughed. “Seriously, man. It’s scary.”

“Oh look, Davey…the blond bombshell is here,” he said looking down the center isle at Kim who was walking up to the stage.

David smiled and threw a hand up to greet her.

“I guess this is my cue to leave. See ya around.” Michael got up and waved. “Hey, Kim!”

“Michael,” she replied as she approached the stage where David was still sitting. “Hello, David.”

“Hey,” he smiled.

*****

Archie was talking with their choreographer backstage when he caught a glimpse of David and Kim on the edge of the stage. He felt that familiar pang of jealousy raring its ugly head. He nodded to the choreographer once more before excusing himself. He walked over to the corner and sat down on an equipment case where he could be alone for a few minutes. But he wasn’t there long before Carly joined him. “Hey squirt, what’s going on?” she asked.

“Oh. Hey Carly. Nothing. Just, ya know, waiting.”

She nodded. “I think they said we were going to begin in about 20 minutes.”

“Oh. Good.” He said, glancing around her to see David and Kim.

Carly turned to see what Archie was looking at. She bit her bottom lip as she turn back, watching Archie’s facial expressions. “You ok, Arch?”

Archie gave her a startled look and shook his head. “Sorry, spaced out there. What did you say?”

“I asked if you were ok.”

“Oh. Yeah. I’m fine.”

“You know, he adores you right?”

“What?”

“Cook.”

“What about him?”

“Have you told him, sweetie?”

David looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Told him what?”

“Oh come on, Archie. I can see it in your eyes. You’re in love with…”

“Shhhhhhhhh!!!!!!” He said, terrified that someone might hear. “Carly, please don’t…”

She smiled warmly. “Relax. I’m not going to tell anyone.” She swung her arm around him. “So, have you told him?”

“No! Of course not!” He said quickly. “But um… I think he knows.”

“Oh?”

“I sort of…” Archie looked away, embarrassed. Carly waited patiently. “Kissed him.” He winced when her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open.

“When?”

“A few nights ago.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing. I just left. Then we talked. Things are cool. I told him it was stupid, and I that didn’t mean to do it. That it was just because I was being emotional. We were talking about Cassie and he’s planning to go out with her.” He nodded his head in the direction of David and Kim. “I got a bit angry and I guess jealous. I thought it was for Cassie, you know? Because I know so much about her and I…”

Carly was surprised, hearing Archie talk so much and so quickly. “You what?”

“This is weird, but I feel like I knew her. Is that possible?”

Carly took a moment to choose her words. “Well…I don't suppose. I didn’t realize that he talked so much about her.”

“All the time,” Archie said. “She was wonderful.” Carly remained silent. “I don’t know how this happened, Carly.”

“We never know Archie.”

He looked up at her. “It sucks.”

She laughed softly. “I know.” She sighed. “Maybe someday he’ll realize?”

“No. I don’t think so. He’s…. He said he loves me, but it’s not ‘that’ kind of love.”

Carly pulled him into a hug. “Oh, sweetie. It will be ok.”

“I know. It just…” he sighed. “Seeing him with ‘her’ just…it hurts.”

She nodded. “I know, but he doesn’t mean to. I’m sure he’d never hurt you intentionally.”

“I know.”

She finally let go of him and sat down on the box beside of him. “Can you keep a secret?”

He rolled his eyes. “Can I keep a secret? Are you serious?”

She smiled. “I know. Stupid question, huh?”

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Kind of.”

“Well, I’m in the same boat as you right now, Mr. Archuleta.”

“But…How? You’re married, Carly.”

“I know. And I was happily married, but I kind of fell in love with someone else.”

Archie tried his best to hide his shock, but it was impossible. “Really?”

“Yes. And the fact that I’m married is a major problem, because I do love my husband. It’s complicated. Not only that, though. The guy I fell in love with is married too.”

“Oh…

“I know. Stupid, right?”

He shook his head. “No. It’s not stupid. Can’t help who you fall in love with, right?”

“Yup. But God, sometimes it sucks so bad!”

“Tell me about it.” He looked out to the edge of the stage again. Kim was walking away and David was smiling brightly. He really didn’t like this.


	10. Chapter Ten

Rehearsals went smoothly. All of the idols were excited about working with some of their own idols. They’d worked over time for the last six days perfecting all the new routines for the group numbers as well as the various duets that they would be performing.

During the complete run through, Carly and Michael began their duet when Archie decided to watch from the front row. It was then that he saw what Carly had been talking about earlier. It hadn’t dawned on him that it was Michael she’d fallen for. He sighed and shook his head in aw. He wondered if Michael felt the same. He was slightly grateful that Carly had given him something to think about other than his own problems.

 

*****

That night, the finale turned out to be a blast for all of the finalist. It ended way too soon and it was time for the winner to be announced. Both Davids stood next to Ryan waiting for the other’s name to be called. David was resisting the urge to grab Archie’s hand. Instead, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

When Ryan announced his name, he was truly surprised. His first reaction was to grab Archie and hug him tightly. He did just that. He also told him that he loved him and held the boy in his arms longer than he probably should have on national television.

When he pulled away, he saw the adoration in Archie’s eyes and he felt elated. He smiled, deciding that it was not the time to try putting his feelings into perspective. He simply decided to enjoy the rest of the night.

However, once everyone was backstage, he had a few moments before he was to have his first post-idol interview. He excused himself from the hordes of people surrounding him and took Archie by the arm, pulling him into an empty dressing room. “You ok?” he asked. It was vital that David know how Archie really felt about not winning. After the previous night, David had anticipated hearing Archie’s name, not his own.

“Yeah, Cook. I’m fine. I knew you were going to win.”

David stared at him for a moment before a grin began to tug at his lips. “Yeah? You sure?”

“Of course I’m sure! I’m so proud of you, David. You totally deserve it.” Archie smiled brightly at David, his eyes sparkling with the joy of the moment.

It was then that something inside of David snapped. He couldn’t resist it anymore. He gently pushed Archie back against the wall and cupped his face in both hands, looking into those beautiful hazel orbs that captivated him. After a moment of just searching each other’s eyes, David made the move and pressed his lips to Archie’s. He kissed him with every ounce of passion that he possessed.

Archie, though shocked at first, returned the kiss with equal intensity. He slipped his arms around the older man’s neck, sliding his hands up to rest on the back of his head, fingers fisting in his hair. He tugged gently at the short brown locks, loving the way he was feeling at that moment. He said a silent prayer that the moment not end. He gasped when he felt David’s tongue gliding across his lips, begging for entrance. “Mmm,” he groaned as his lips parted to allow David access.

David didn’t hesitate to push his tongue past Archie’s full, luscious lips. As their tongues tangled, tasting each other fully, David slipped his hand down over Archie’s chest as he moved to wrap his arms around the boy. One hand came to rest on his lower back, pulling him against his own body.

Archie moaned softly as his body molded to David’s. He let one hand fall to David’s collar, gripping the material in his fist. He felt his knees growing week as David continued to devour his mouth with gentle sucking and soft licks.

Mere seconds later, David broke away, panting for air as he buried his face in the crook of Archie’s neck. Archie closed his eyes and breathed raggedly as he leaned his head against David’s shoulder. They stayed like that for several moments, letting their breathing return to normal, until there was a knock on the door followed by a voice calling to David, telling him that he was needed in two minutes.

He lifted his head at the same time that Archie did, causing their eyes to meet. Archie’s cheeks flushed as the look in David’s eyes spoke volumes. His tongue darted out to lick his swollen lips.

David closed his eyes as a shiver ran down his spine. He rested his forehead against Archie’s. “I have to go,” he whispered.

“I know,” Archie gasped.

David raised his head and placed a gentle kiss on the boy’s forehead before leaving.

*****

Dawn was breaking before David finally had a chance to rest. The entire night had been hectic. He had press interview after press interview. Then there was the wrap up party thrown by Fox and everyone at Idol. Then he had more press, some with Archie, some without. He was beginning to wonder if every news station in the country wasn’t in LA to interview them. He flopped down on a chair while he waited for more instructions on where he was to be next. What he really wanted to do was see Addison and his family, and get some much needed sleep. But, he was the new American Idol. He had obligations far beyond that. He scanned the room looking for a soda machine or a coffee machine. He needed caffeine. Otherwise, he might conk out during his next interview. Until that point, he’d been running on pure adrenaline.

Suddenly there was a steaming cup of Starbucks being offered to him. He looked up to see Archie standing in front of him. “Hey, Archie.”

Archie smiled despite his obvious fatigue. “Hey. Thought you might need this.”

“You read my mind. Thanks,” he said as he accepted the coffee. “Sit?”

“I’m afraid to,” Archie explained, sipping at his hot chocolate and moving around in a jittery manner. “If I sit down, they might not get me back up.”

“I know what you mean.” David took the lid off of his cup. “Maybe I shouldn’t have set down either, but these boots, man…”

Archie nodded. “Yeah.” He looked around. “So what’s next?”

David shook his head wearily. “I dunno. I lost track about 4 hours ago.”

“Me too.” He turned to look at the line of people still waiting to see them. This was not going to end soon. “I saw Addison after the show. She going to stay in LA for a few days?”

“No. She’s going home with Mom tomorrow. That way she’ll be there when I get there this weekend. I’m going to Mom’s instead of back to my apartment.”

“Oh.”

“More privacy.”

“Sure going to need it.”

“Yeah.”

Just as he was starting to enjoy his coffee, someone was calling their names. David groaned. “I guess it’s show time again.”

“I guess so.”

David got up and headed towards the lady that had been yelling at them. Archie sighed and followed.

*****

The next week was a whirlwind of press and TV shows. Neither David had the time to sit down and discuss what had happened after the show that night. It was inevitable that it was just pushed to the back burner for the time being. By the time things settled down even a little bit, they were on separate flights back to their hometowns, but not without the promise that they would talk as soon as they got back together.

David spent 3 glorious days with his family. They threw Addison a huge birthday party and the two of them spent a lot of quality time together while his mom, step-dad, and brother were working. They talked about everything from Idol and how long he was going to be away from her to her favorite book in which he had to read to her a total of 25 times. That was interesting. He couldn’t trick her either. If he tried to skip a page, she would catch him and tell him that it wasn’t how the story went. They were relaxing in the back yard in the hammock when she asked him a question that sent him tumbling momentarily back into the depth of depression.

“Daddy,” she asked as she lay against his side, playing with the buttons his shirt.

“Hmm?” He was lazily watching the clouds float across the sky.

“Why don’t I have a Mommy?”

For a moment, he thought his heart might have stopped beating. He could barely breathe and certainly couldn’t answer her right away.

“Daddy?”

He held her a little tighter and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. “Oh, Addie…” he sighed. “You do have a Mommy. She just lives in heaven.”

“That’s what Grandma Viv said. Why don’t she live with us? My friends have Mommies that live with them.”

David assumed she was talking about her new friends at Day Care. He hadn’t like the idea of her going to Day Care, but didn’t really have a choice since he wasn’t there to watch her during the day and his family and Vivian didn’t have everyday off. “She wanted to live with us,” he said softly. “But she couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

He closed his eyes. He had really dreaded the day these question came about. He’d hoped they’d be further down the road. He’d also hoped to have someone help him explain it. He knew she was too smart and way too vocal for her age. He didn’t know many two year olds that talked as much as she did. He thought about what to say. “Well, you know when you go to Church with Grandma Viv or Grandma Beth and they talk about God and Angels?” Seeing her nod her head, he continued. “Ok. Do you know what God does when he needs a new angel?” She shook her head. “He looks down at everyone and finds people who are good and nice.”

“Like me?” She asked with a wide grin as she sat up on her knees beside of him.

He laughed softly. “Yeah, like you.”

“And then what?”

“Well when he finds the one who is the nicest, he lets them into heaven, and when they get there, he gives them pretty golden slippers and beautiful white wings.”

Addison’s eyes grew wide. “Really!?”

“Yes!” he grinned at her. “And they also get a halo.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a like a crown.”

“Oh. Sparkles?”

“Maybe.”

“Ok. And then what?”

“Well then they get to live in Heaven with God and watch over everyone that they love.” He bit his lip when Addison gave him a confused look. “God chose your Mommy because she was the kindest and the nicest, and he knew that she would make a beautiful Angel.”

“So…” she pursed her lips and furrowed her eyebrows. “My Mommy is an Angel?”

David nodded. “Yep. And she’s watching over me,” he pointed to himself and then to her. “And you, everyday.”

“Why can’t we see her?”

His quickly wracked his brain for something to say that would put a child’s mind to ease. He smiled as he thought of something. “Because Heaven is a magical place.”

“Huh?” she tilted her head and looked at him with question.

He continued to explain Heaven to her until finally she was satisfied and lay back down beside of him.

“I wish Mommy was here with us.”

David felt a tear trickling out of the corner of his eyes. “Me too, sweetie.”

“I would love to have a new Mommy,” she said dreamily, laying her head on his chest.

David closed his eyes. He couldn’t deny that her innocent words cut him deeply, but he knew that she was only a baby and never really knew her mom. Cassie had only been able to take care of her for a few months and then it was left to him and their Moms. It was only natural for her to feel that way. He sighed heavily and turned his eyes back toward the Heavens. This definitely changed things for him. He suddenly had a new mission.

 

*****

Once he was back in LA, he went straight to the hotel where he and the rest of the idols were staying. He decided to lay low for a while. Of course, he knew he couldn’t do that for long though. He’d promised a certain _seventeen_ year old _boy_ that they would talk as soon as they were back in the same place. He’d been referring to Archie like that for the last 24 hours. It helped ease his mind when he rationalized it that way. What he was going to do was the right thing. He had no other choice. It was logical. It was for the best.


	11. Chapter Eleven

David was sitting on his bed tuning his guitar when his cell phone rang. He picked it up and looked at the number on the LED screen. He sighed and laid it back down. He wasn’t ready . Not yet. He continued tuning his guitar, thankful that the day was theirs to do with what they wanted before the rehearsals started the next day.

Before long, there was a knock on his door. He decided not to answer it either.

“Cook! I know you’re in there,” came a pissed Irish accent. “Open the damn door before I break it down.”

David ignored her until her pounding and shouting finally became too annoying. He put his guitar down and went to open the door.

“It’s about damn time,” Carly snapped. David scowled at her and turned back into the room. “Christ! You look like shit.”

“It’s becoming a trend for me,” he said sardonically. “What do you want, Carly? I’m really tired.”

“Do you mind telling me what in the hell you did to Archie? The poor kid’s locked himself in his room and won’t talk to anyone.”

David swallowed thickly and looked at the floor. He hated himself for putting Archie through this. “It’s complicated, Carly. And further more, it’s none of your business.” He didn’t really care for her medaling.

Carly’s eyes grew wide with shock. “Excuse me? Archie is my friend and that makes it my business when a jackass like you hurts him. Now what happened?”

“Nothing,” he said, his voice stone cold.

“That’s bullshit, Cook. That kid has been there for you through this whole thing and this is how you repay him?” She spat. “Are you so self absorbed that you don’t have the sense to see that he loves you? That he’s _in_ love with you?”

He ignored the fact that she was yelling at him. He even ignored the fact that she’d called him self absorbed. “Puppy love, Carly. He’ll get over it.” David regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. The look in Carly’s eyes verged on homicidal.

“Are you shitting me?” She asked, absolutely appalled by his arrogance. “Is that what you think this is?”

“No, Carly! I know what it is,” he conceded. “I know that he’s in love with me. He sat down on the edge of his bed. “I’m in love with him too.” He felt the ever familiar rush of tears swelling up in his eyes and he sobbed. That was the first time he’d actually admitted that to himself let alone anyone else. He was in love with David Archuleta. A seventeen year old, Mormon, boy from Murray, Utah. It was absurd and ironic all at the same time.

Carly stood there speechless. She knew David cared about the boy, but she didn’t realize that he shared Archie’s feelings.

David put his face in his hands. This was not where he saw his life going a year ago. He felt the bed move as Carly sat down next to him. “I’m sorry for yelling,” she apologized, as she put a hand on his back. She was willing to bet that American Idol had never seen a season like this one. There must have been something in the water. How else would one explain the contestants falling in love with each other, given the circumstances. “Did you tell him?”

David shook his head. “I can’t.”

“Aww, Davey. Why not?”

David sighed. “Because it’s complicated and I can’t be in love with another man. It won’t work. Especially with one so young and innocent.”

“But you are.”

“I don’t want to be.”

Carly wanted to scream at him some more, but she opted to show some compassion. “Why?”

David sighed and sat up. He reached into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet. He opened it and handed it to her without saying a word.

Carly took it and stared at the picture of a little girl with dark brown ringlets and sparkling hazel eyes. She recognized her as the child that had accompanied David’s family to the show on occasion. “Who?”

“That’s Addison. She’s two, and she wants a new mommy.”

“Oh my Lord,” Carly put her hand to her chest. “Davey, you have a daughter?”

“I have a daughter,” he confirmed. “And she’s the most important thing in my life. I can’t put this…” he waved a hand in the air, “whatever it is, before her.”

Carly saw the raw emotion in his eyes. It was so unusual compared to the happy-go-lucky David she was used to. Now Carly truly understood David’s dilemma. “Does he know about her?”

David nodded. “He’s had tea with us,” he said, smiling warmly at the memory. “She loves him.”

“Why didn’t you explain this to him, Davey? I’m sure he would understand.”

David shrugged. The truth was, he didn’t really tell Archie anything. When Archie stopped by his room that morning, David had simply apologized for leading him on. He apologized for hurting him, and he told him that he just couldn’t be in a relationship with him beyond that of friends.

He knew the boy was fragile and that he was going to be hurt, but he saw no other alternatives. Archie had taken the news in stride. He’d simply nodded and smiled as always. David was glad that Archie had the ability to smile even when he was sad. If he’s cried or frowned, David would have crumbled, and he knew he couldn’t do that. When Archie left, David did break down. He cried for a long time, until he didn’t think he had anymore tears to cry.

Carly stayed in his room for a couple of hours talking with him, giving him a shoulder to cry on. She felt so sorry for both of them. She decided that her own situation was cake compared to theirs.

*****

After leaving David’s room, Carly found herself standing out side of Archie’s suite. She knocked on the door and was greeted by Jeff.

“Ms. Smithson,” he greeted.

“Hello, Mr. Archuleta,” she smiled up at him. “Has he come out yet?”

He shook his head. “No. He’s still in there. Says he wants to be left alone.”

She nodded. “I think I may know what is wrong. Do you mind if I try to talk to him?”

Jeff stepped aside and held the door open for her. “You can try.”

Carly smiled, gratefully at him before going to the closed door that led to Archie’s room. She knocked softly. “Archie?” She didn’t get an answer so she tried again. “Archie? Can we talk? I just came from Cook’s room.” She heard a soft rustling sound before the doorknob turned and Archie opened the door, letting her in. She gave him a small smile. His eyes were red and his cheeks were puffy. There was no doubt that he’d been crying for hours. She hugged him to her as the door closed. “Oh, Sweetie,” she whispered.

“I’m so stupid,” he said against her shoulder as his body began to tremble.

“No,” she soothed. “No, Archie. You’re not.” She held him for a long time before he pulled away, wiping his face with his hands. She then sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to her.

Archie sat down and looked at his hands that were clasped together in his lap. He wondered what David told her.

“He loves you,” she stated plainly.

Archie shook his head sadly. “No. He doesn’t.”

Carly could certainly understand why he would think that. “David has a lot going on right now, Archie. But he does love you.”

“Then why…” he started to ask, but decided not to. He really didn’t want to hear all the reasons that David didn’t want to be with him.

“These are new feelings for him, Archie,” Carly began. “First of all, he’s scared.”

“Of what?” Archie’s innocence really did prevent him from fully understanding all the problems that came with love and relationships. All he knew was what he felt, and that was pure, unconditional love. It didn’t matter to him that it was with another guy. He just loved.

Carly put her arm around him and tried her best to explain everything to him. Then she went on to tell him about the conversation between David and Addison. Archie was shocked to learn that David had told Carly about Addison. He smiled inside though, because that meant he trusted her, and that made him happy.

*****

Startled by the images of a wonderful dream turned nightmare, David awoke with strangled scream. His shirt was soaked with sweat and his face was wet with tears. His heart pounded loudly in his chest. He looked around the room, eyes darting everywhere, trying to familiarize himself with his surroundings. Once he realized where he was, he calmed down. The dream he was having involved Cassie, but somewhere in the middle of it, she’d faded away and he was with someone else. He couldn’t see their face, but he knew it wasn’t Cassie. Then there had been Addison, followed by torture and death and deep sorrow. He couldn’t quite put the pieces back together. He took a shaky breath and wiped the sweat from his face before he grabbed his cell phone. He wanted to talk to Addison. He just needed to hear her voice so he knew that she was ok.

After a short conversation with both his mom and daughter, he felt much better about the dream. He pushed it to the back of his mind and decided to focus on other things. Just as he was about to hang up, there was another knock on the door. He finished saying his goodbyes and went to see who was there this time. Looking through the peep hole, he gasped when he saw Archie standing out in the hallway. He hesitated for a moment, just watching him through the peep hole.

Archie fidgeted nervously, moving from one foot to the other, looking up and down the hall way. He knocked again and waited a moment before sighing heavily and turning to leave. David quickly opened the door. “Archie, wait!”

Archie turned back, looking at David with wide, surprised eyes. Perhaps he hadn’t really expected him to open the door. “H-hey.”

David leaned his head against the door facing and bit his bottom lip. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t seem to find the words.

“Can I,” Archie licked his lips in his nervous habit. “Can I come in?” David nodded and let him inside, but still remained silent. “I uh, talked to Carly,” Archie said as he walked over to the window, looking down into the city. David joined him, and he felt a little more of his sadness fade away. “She explained it all to me. Why didn’t you just tell me, Cook?”

David lowered his eyes, studying the windowsill. “I..” he struggled to find the right words. “I didn’t think you would understand.”

Archie nodded. He’d come to David’s room determined not to be that sputtering, gushing seventeen year old boy who giggled nervously throughout conversations. This time he needed to be serious and calm. “Well, for what it’s worth, I do understand.”

David finally looked up at him, their eyes meeting for the first time since he’d opened the door. “Really?”

“Yes. I do.” Archie turned to face David, leaning his shoulder against the cool glass, crossing his arms over his chest. “I would never ask you to put me above Addison. I won’t even ask you to choose me over a woman that would make a perfect mother to her.” He paused for a moment. “All I really want is for you both to be happy.”

David stared at him. Archie was mature well beyond his age and David admired that, but at the same time, he wished he would act like a teen age drama queen. Maybe then he wouldn’t feel so bad about breaking his heart. “What about you?”

Archie sighed. “Cook, I’m going to be honest with you. Don’t freak out or anything. Ok?” When David nodded, he continued. “I love you. Just seeing you happy makes me happy.” He looked out the window for a moment before turning back to David who was staring at the windowsill again. “Now, I wish that you would be honest with me. I’m not asking for anything other than the truth, David.”

David nodded. What choice did he have? He couldn’t hurt him anymore. He didn’t want to make things worse. Perhaps honest was what they both needed him to be. He folded his arms over his chest and thought about what to say. “You remind me a lot of Cassie.” He finally said.

Archie furrowed his brow, confused about how that was even relevant, but he didn’t interrupt.

“I think that was what drew me to you in the first place,” David explained further. “You have a lot of the same qualities that she did. Your personality mirrors hers to a T.” David turned too look at Archie once again. “Then you became like my best friend here and I realized that you’re not exactly like her. You have just as many differences.” He saw Archie frown. “Not bad differences,” he assured. “Just differences. Then, I started to see you as ‘you’ and I realize that I loved you. Way more than I probably should.”

He took a deep breath before continuing. “I guess what I’m saying here is, I love you too, Archie. But I’m not…” he stammered. “I just can’t be in a relationship like that.” He felt tears stinging in his eyes. “And when I really think about it, you deserve so much better than me.”

Archie started to protest, but David stopped him. “No. You do. All I’ll do is hurt you, and I don’t want to hurt you anymore, Arch. Someday you‘ll realize that I‘m really not the person that you‘re meant to be with. You‘ll find someone a million times better than me and definitely more deserving of your love.”

Archie bit his bottom lip and tried his best to understand everything that David was saying.

“I also have to think about Addie. Archie, if you could have seen her the other day, it would have broken your heart. She really wants a mother.”

Archie nodded. What more could he do? He’d asked David for the truth and he’d given it to him. All he could do was suck it up and be glad to have David and hopefully Addison in his life. Perhaps David was right. Maybe they wouldn’t stand a chance anyway, but then again, maybe later things would be different. He could always wait and see. “Are you ready to find her one?” Archie new that David had gone on a date with Kim sometime following idol’s finale, but he hadn’t heard how it had gone, so he really didn’t know.

“I don’t know yet.” David answered honestly.

Archie smiled, warmly at him. “I hope that when you do, she cares as much about you as I do, and I hope that she’s an angel to Addie.”

A small smile tugged on David’s lips. “That means a lot, Archie.” He put an uncertain hand on the boys shoulder and waited for a moment before he was certain that hugging him was appropriate anymore.

As David pulled him into a tight embrace, Archie closed his eyes and clung to him. “I’ll always love you, David,” he whispered.

David pulled away and smiled. “Me too, Archie. Always.”

Archie smiled and for the first time that day, it was genuine.

“So, we cool?”

Archie nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”

David closed his eyes and smiled, thanking God that they were going to be ok. He would have hated to lose Archie completely. Not only that, but Addison would have been devastated.

“Um, Cook?” David opened his eyes and looked at Archie who was now looking towards David’s open suit case. “Is that a doll baby?”

Slightly embarrassed, David laughed. He went to the suitcase and picked it up. “Yeah. Addison stuck it in there before I left. She said it was so I wouldn’t be lonely. It’s her favorite doll.”

“Aww, that’s so cute.”

“Yeah,” David agreed. Then he thought of something. “That reminds me. Guess what she named him.”

“Um…” Archie thought about it for a moment. “I don’t know. What?”

“Archie.”

A huge grin spread across Archie’s face. “What!? Really?”

“Yeah. She did it before she even met you.”

“Wow. That’s so neat.”

David smiled and laid the doll baby back down. “Told you that she loved you.”

Archie beamed. “Well, I’ve grown quite fond of her too.”

David fidgeted for a moment. “So um, did you want to do something? Watch a movie? Order room service? Play monopoly?”

“Sounds good to me,” Archie replied, moving toward the door. “What ever you want to do, but first, I need to go tell Carly that we’re ok. Alright?”

David nodded. “Ok. I’ll order food while you’re gone. You want the usual?”

“Yeah. Usual is fine,” Archie replied, smiling as he left the room in search of Carly.


	12. Chapter Twelve

After that night in his hotel room, things between the Davids had been ok. Their lives did, however, become more hectic and it was almost impossible for them to hang out too much. David was managing his time between the tour, press, his family, friends, Kim, and his album. It was rare when he had a little time to himself, so when he did, he meditated. He needed to clear his head of everything going on around him so that he could have a fresh outlook.

Addison was able to join various family members and a couple of David’s closest friends when they came to see him. He looked forward to those days and nights. Much to his appreciation, very few questions had been asked in regards to who the little girl was. If it was ever brought up, Addison was referred to simply as family. Of course, by now the other Idols knew, but respected David enough to keep her a secret from the public.

Kimberly had been surprisingly receptive to the news of David’s daughter. In fact she’d been thrilled about her, saying that she’d always adored children and wanted a large family someday. That was, of course, after the initial shock wore off. It had taken him a while to tell her, but once he had, he felt that they’d reached another level in their relationship. Things were really starting to look up for him.

On one time in particular, David had the day off and was able to spend an entire day with Addison and Kim. They walked around the city and several parks for Addison’s merriment. They ate hot dogs from street vendors and had ice cream while sitting on a bench in a park watching ducks on the lake. Addison was having a wonderful time. David was thrilled because she seemed to like Kim and didn’t mind sharing his attention with her.

“Hey Kim,” the little girl said from her perch on David’s shoulders, as they returned to the hotel where they were staying.

“Hmmm?”

“Do you know Archie?”

David tried to laugh it off as Kim gave him a confused look before telling Addison that she did know Archie. His daughter really did seem to have an infatuation with young David. “I think she might have a crush,” he explained as he held the door open for Kim.

“What’s a crush?” Addison asked, leaning forward and pulling up on David’s baseball cap so that she could look at his face.

“It’s when you really, really like someone,” he replied.

“Oh. Like Kim?” She squealed in her high pitched voice.

Kimberly looked at the child as they walked. “Like me?”

“Yeah. You have a crush on Daddy,” she said confidently.

Amused, David glanced over at Kim as they walked through the lobby. “She’s a bright one, that Addison.”

“So does Archie,” Addison continued on, talking about crushes.

“So does Archie, what?” Kim asked.

“Huh? Oh! He really, really likes Daddy.”

It was Kim’s turned to be amused as she shot David a teasing smirk. She laughed, as a blush crept into David’s cheeks and he shrugged. “Who knew?”

“Daddy, can we go to Chucky Cheesies?”

“Maybe for dinner,” he told her as he pulled her down from his shoulders to sit against his hip.

“Yay!” She exclaimed, looking over at Kim. “You want to go?”

Kim smiled. “Sure. If it’s ok with your Dad.”

Addison cupped David’s cheeks in her hands and turned his face towards her. “Can she?”

“Oh, I don’t know…” David teased.

“Please?”

“Well, since you said please.” He then pretended to bite her neck, causing her to squeal with laughter.

“Daddy! That tickles!!!!” He stopped and planted a big kiss on her cheek, before she turned her attention back to Kim. “You can come with us!”

“Yay!!!” Kim clapped her hands in mock excitement.

“What about Andy?” Addison asked. “And Archie!”

“I don’t know, babe. Andy will probably come with us, but Archie might be busy.”

“No he’s not!”

“I’ll ask, ok?”

Another squeal from Addison before they got of the elevator was heard. David shook his head as they walked to their suite. He put Addison down for a moment so he could fish his keycard out of his jeans.

****

Archie was in the middle of shopping with Jason, Brooke, and Kristy Lee when his cell phone began ringing. Jason looked at him oddly when he heard the ring tone. “What? I like that song,” he said defensively before answering the phone. “Hello?”

“Hey, Arch.”

“Cook. Hey! What’s up?”

“I have a very pretty young lady who wants you to join us at Chucky Cheese’s tonight. You want to go?”

Archie couldn’t hide the grin. “Awww, that’s so cool. Tell her I’d love to go.”

“Great. I’ll tell her.” David looked over his shoulder into the hotel room. “She’s inside with Kim right now. I’m on the balcony looking at this amazing view. I keep forgetting how beautiful this place is.”

“Yeah. Pretty amazing.”

“So, what are you up to?”

“Mmm, I’m shopping. With Jason and Brooke and Kristy. We’re looking at sunglasses right now. They’re pretty neat.”

David listened to Archie ramble on about his shopping trip for a while. He smiled as he explained some of the sights that he’d seen. “Sounds like fun, man.”

“Oh, it is!” Archie gushed. “Me and Jason took pictures of these really funny giant mushrooms.”

“Giant mushrooms?”

“Yeah. They were decorations at this Pizza Place that we ate at.”

“Ahh…”

“Yeah.” The line went silent for a moment before Archie spoke up again. “So what did you guys do today?”

“We went sight seeing. Went to a few parks.”

“I bet Addie loved that, huh?”

“Yeah,” David sighed. “Well, I better get back in there. I just wanted to call to see if you could come with. Meet you in the lobby at six?”

“That’s fine. I’ll be there.”

“Great. Talk to you later, Arch.” He hung up his cell and went back inside to where Kim and Addison were. Addison was sitting on the bed staring at Kim who was standing nearby holding a stack of papers in her hands.

“Daddy,” Addison said when she noticed he was back. “Kim’s crying.”

Alarmed, David moved closer to the two. “What’s wrong?” he asked as she looked up at him. In her eyes, there was a mixture of sadness and what looked to him like anger. He glanced down at the papers in her hand, his stomach flipped as he realized what they were. His fist clinched as he made a conscious decision to control his emotions. “Why do you have those?”

“David, what are they?”

“They’re letters. How did you get them? Were you going through my things?” He asked, noticing the open duffle bag on the bed.

“No. Addie…,” she began.

“I wanted to show her Mommy,” Addison said, holding up the framed photo that had recently been retired to staying in the duffle bag in the box that contained the letters as well. Her eyes were big and round as she looked up at her Dad, afraid that she would be in trouble. “I’m sorry.”

David’s demeanor softened. “It’s ok, Addie.” He reached out and took the letters from Kim who let go of them without hesitation. “How many did you read?”

Kim stared at the floor, not wanting to admit to him that she had in fact read three. “A couple,” she replied, still not meeting his eyes.

“Kim, these are private,” he explained, trying to be gentle.

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just… David, when are you going to get over her?”

He was sure she didn’t mean to say that in a hateful way, but it didn’t exactly come out the way he would have hoped. Apparently she was going to have some issues with this. “I…I…She was my life, Kim.”

“Was, David. As in past tense. Gone. You have to move on with your life. You can’t keep on living vicariously through some stupid letters that she wrote--what? Three years ago. David you have to get over her.”

He took a deep breath as he put the letters back in the box along with the photo that Addison handed him while she sat silently on the bed watching the two intently. “You have no idea,” he finally said. “Sometimes, it was those letters that got me through the day. Yeah, I put on this incredible act that led everyone to believe that I’m probably the happiest guy in the world, but in reality when I was alone, I felt lost.” He looked at Addison, feeling incredibly guilty for ever having those thoughts knowing that he had her. “I’m trying. I honestly am.”

Kim felt horrible. She hadn’t intended to be so harsh, but she couldn’t have him thinking about another woman, dead or not, while he was with her. It just didn’t sit well with her. “I am…Sorry.”

He shook his head as he zipped up the duffle bag. “Don’t be. I should have explained the letter thing to you.”

“Yeah. That would have been nice.”

“I still get them.”

“What?” The look on her face said she thought he was losing his mind. “What do you mean you still get them?”

David tried his best to explain it to her. She went ballistic telling him that it was unhealthy and that he was going to wind up having a mental breakdown. They’d all but broken up by the time that she left the room in need of alone time.

Addison looked up at her dad who was now sitting on the bed beside of her. She climbed onto his lap and just hugged him. She had sat so quietly through the whole argument with Kim that he’d forgotten that she was even there. He felt awful. She shouldn’t have been exposed to that. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes. In a matter of moments, what was once a wonderful, fun filled day with the most important women in his life turned into a hellish nightmare.

*****

A few hours later David and Addison were stepping off the elevator to meet Archie in the lobby. Andy had agreed to meet them there. “Archie!!!” Addison squealed, taking off from her dad as soon as she saw him.

“Addie! Hi!” Archie said, excitedly as David approached them, looking around to see if their cover had been blown. Archie smiled brightly at him. “Hey Cook.” He looked around for a second before asking, “Where’s Kim?”

“She uh…” David searched awkwardly for the words he needed. “Won’t be joining us tonight.” He figured that was as much of an explanation as he could give.

“Actually, I’m right here,” she said as she sauntered up to them. She slipped her arm around David’s. “We need to talk. Archie, would you excuse us?”

David hesitated. “But…Addis…”

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Archie said with a smile, meeting David’s eyes with his own.

David nodded and let Kim drag him away for a few moments. She pulled him over to the elevators. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have never said the things I did. It was disrespectful and wrong.” She paused to catch her breath. “I hope you can forgive me. Please?”

David sighed. “Kim…I forgive you, but you have to realize that this hasn’t been easy for me.”

“I know and I was out of line demanding that you get over her. I’m sorry for the things I said about her. I’m sure she was a lovely woman.”

David didn’t really want to talk about Cassie. Especially with Kim. “Let’s just go eat and enjoy what’s left of our day together. Ok?”

She nodded her head quickly. “Ok. I can do that.”

He smiled and leaned in to plant a chaste kiss against her lips. “Good.” He took her hand and they walked back over to Archie and Addison who were playing a silly little game with their hands. “You guys ready to go?”

Archie and Addison stopped their game and Addison reached up wanting him to pick her up. He smiled and picked her up, settling her against his hip. “Ready.”

David smiled as Addison wrapped her arms around Archie’s neck and laid her head on his shoulder. “I swear, I still think she likes you more than me.”

“Not a chance,” Archie argued as the four of them left the hotel to get into the car awaiting them outside.

Once they were inside the restaurant and their food had been served, Addison and David came back to the table, taking a break in playing in order to eat. Addison climbed over Andy to get to Archie’s lap where she sat down, deciding that she was going to eat there. David slid into the booth beside of Kim and smiled across the table at his daughter and friends. “We got a ton of tickets.”

“Nice,” Andy said as he started to fill his plate with pizza. “So how was everyone’s day?”

“Great,” David answered. “We had fun.”

Andy raised an eyebrow, not quite buying that. “What about you Archie?”

“I had a good day. Went shopping,” Archie replied while cutting Addison’s pizza in to small pieces for her.

“Sweet. Find anything worth buying?”

“Yeah. A couple things. Oh! That reminds me. Addie, I got you something.”

“You did?”

“Yeah.” He looked across the table at David and Kim. “Remind me when we get back to the hotel.”

David nodded, chewing thoughtfully on his pizza. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Archie buying things for Addison. Of course Andy bought her things all the time, but that was…different.

A few minutes later, Addison was done. She pushed her plate away from her. “I wanna play.”

“I’ll take you,” Kim said, laying her napkin on the table.

Addison’s eyes grew wide. “No!” She said quite frankly. “Archie.”

“Addie,” David said, not missing the look that Andy gave him. “Archie isn’t done eating.”

Archie held up his hand to quiet David. “No,” he wiped his mouth on his napkin. “It’s ok. I’ll take her.” He slipped out of the booth, helping Addison down with him. “We’ll be back.”

“Sorry.” David said, looking at Kim sympathetically before his eyes wondered back to Archie and Addison who were heading off into the kiddy area.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

David sat in the booth with Kim, trying to listen to her talk about her new job opportunities, but his eyes kept drifting toward the play area where Addison, Archie, and now Andy were.

Addison was climbing up ladders and squealing as she slid down the slides into Archie’s waiting arms. David smiled, watching them for a long time before he realized that Kim had stopped talking and that she was looking at him with disapproval. “I’m sorry. What?”

“Were you even hearing a word I said?”

He rubbed his hand over his face. “I’m sorry, Kim. I was just watching Addie.”

She sighed, frustrated by the whole thing. “Your daughter likes Archie more than me.”

“Not true. She’d just known him longer.”

“Oh yeah?”

“She likes you.”

“I’m finding that hard to believe. She hasn’t even said one word to me since this afternoon.”

David had noticed a change in Addison’s behavior towards Kim, but he was convinced that it was just because Archie was there. He found himself smiling again as his eyes and mind drifted back to them. It was when Kim smacked him on the arm and told him to stop ogling the boy, that he realized that he needed to stop. Of course he looked at Kim like she was crazy and denied anything of the sort.

As the night wore on, he caught himself doing the same thing more than once. He finally made himself stop. Then he vowed to avoid any further awkward situations with Archie in the future of course that would probably be easier said than done. Oh well, it was worth a try.

*****

Three weeks later, he had managed to avoid any other weird happenings wherein Archie was involved. That was mostly because he had busied himself to the point that he had no time for any interaction with anyone other than for work purposes. If that is what it took to keep him out of trouble then that is what he planned to do. He didn’t really want to have to explain his ‘longing’ looks towards Archie to Kim again. That was awkward in every sense of the word.

Now it was an early morning and he was sitting in his hotel room reading his some mail that had collected over the last few weeks. The second package he picked up surprised him. It had been so long since he’d received anything from her that he’d almost stopped looking for them. He ripped it open and pulled out the letter enclosed. He began to read, wondering what she‘d come up with this time. After the first few lines, he could hardly see the words on the sheet of paper that he held in his hands. Tears blurred his vision to the point where everything was running together on the page. He’d prepared himself for this letter. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been expecting it. But it was just incredibly bad timing.

_“I hope that by this time, you’ve found someone. Make sure they’re good to Addie….and remember, if she doesn’t approve, then they’re probably not the right one. I know that the two of you will be just fine without me. It’s been a long road, Cookie, but I promise everything will be ok….”_

David could actually see the tear stains on the paper. She’d been crying as she wrote the letter. He ran his fingers over the blotched ink spots as his own tears made new ones. The letter was simple and had an even simpler ending. So unlike the other letters she’d wrote. He assumed it was because it was the last.

*****

Carly strolled down the hallway heading for David’s room. She was feeling a bit bored with room service and wanted to go grab a bite to eat in the restaurant. No one else would join her. He was the only person left to ask. She knocked on his door when she finally reached it. There was no answer. She found that strange. David always answered his door. “Cook!” She called, banging harder on the door. “It’s me, Carly. Are you in there?” She sighed and was about to walk away when she heard the clicking sound of the door being unlocked.

She gasped when the door swung open. “God, Davey. What happened?”

David walked back into his room, leaving the door open for her. “Nothing. Just having a bad morning.”

“Do you want me to get Archie?” She asked, knowing that if something was wrong, Archie would know what to do, just like he had before.

“No,” he snapped. He didn’t need Archie.

Carly sighed, sitting down on the chair near the bed where he’d thrown himself, face down. “What happened to you guys?”

“It’s complicated,” David replied, his voice muffled by the pillow he was talking into.

Carly as well as the rest of their tour mates had noticed a change in the Davids. They rarely hung out anymore. Sure they kept up the public display, but behind the scenes, it was different. “You want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

“No. Did you want something?”

She felt that she was getting no where so she stood back up. “Oh, I was just going to invite you down for some breakfast. You want to go?”

“No.”

“Alright. Well, if there is nothing I can do…” she waited for a reaction, but received none. “Ok. I’m out then. I hope you feel better.”

He groaned, but stayed put.

*****

Carly’s next stop was at Archie’s door. Jeff answered. “Hello, Carly. Surprised to see you out and about this early.”

“I know, right? Um, is Archie up?”

“Yeah, just a minute. I’ll get him.”

“Could I speak to him, privately for a moment?”

“Sure.” He walked back into the room. “David, Carly is here to speak with you.”

Archie appeared and she motioned for him to join her in the hall.

He came out of the room, closing the door behind him. “Hey, Carly.”

“Archie, what’s going on with Cook?”

Archie’s eyes flashed with momentary concern. “What? What do you mean?”

“Have you seen him today?”

Archie shook his head. Truth was, he rarely saw David at all on their days off, save for the one or two times that Addison had requested his presence.

“He looks like hell. I don’t know what happened, but something must have,” she explained. “I thought maybe you could go talk to him.”

Archie felt his heart thumping against his chest. He knew Cook probably didn’t want to see him, but at the same time he didn’t want to disappoint Carly. He nodded. “I’ll try.”

She smiled. “Archie, you’re an angel.” She hugged him quickly and then headed off towards her own room, deciding to nix the idea of breakfast someplace other than her room.

Archie stood in the hallway for a moment, gathering up the courage to go see David.

 

*****

David groaned when the knocking began again. He got up to see who it was, peeping through the peep hole, he saw Archie. “Damn, Carly,” he muttered before opening the door. “Archie…”

The boy looked up at him shyly. “Hi, Cook.”

David stepped to the side and let him in.

“How are you?” Archie asked.

David snorted, “That a trick question, Arch?”

“Sorry. Carly told me that something might be wrong. I wanted to check on you.”

“I’m fine. Really. Thanks for the concern though.”

Archie looked down, studying the design in the carpet. He felt horrible about how things were between them now. He also hated the fact that he was to blame. If only he hadn’t kissed him that first time. Maybe that wouldn’t have cause so much confusion and awkwardness between them. “Cook,” he said softly, looking up at the older man. “I… I thought we were ok.”

“We are, Archie. We’re ok.”

“Then why are you avoiding me?”

“I don’t avoid you.”

“Yes. You do.”

David sighed. He knew he’d have to answer this question someday. He just wished that it wasn’t this day. “I don’t mean to….Archie, this is just so overwhelming for me,” he began. “I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore. I mean I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. The tour, my album, producers on my back all the time, Addison, you, Kim…and to make everything worse for me at the most unstable time in my life, I got a letter from Cassie this morning.” He paused to breathe and looked at Archie. “It’s the one, Arch.”

Archie’s eyes met his as he gasped with surprise.

“She said goodbye.”

“Oh, Cook….” Archie said, sympathetically as he stood up and went to the older man, hugging him tightly. “It’s ok.”

David stood still for a moment before he finally gave in and wrapped his arms around Archie, finally giving into his emotions.

*****

A while later, Archie was still in David’s room. David had given him the letter to read. “She left you a DVD?”

“Yeah. I haven’t watched it yet.” He got up from his spot on the sofa and grabbed the DVD from the bed. “You uh, want to watch it with me?”

Archie’s eyes shone brightly and his vibrant smile returned to his face. “Really?” David had never let him watch any of the DVDs before.

“Yeah,” David put it the DVD player and rejoined Archie on the sofa. Archie was surprised when David laid down and used his thigh as a pillow. “I just don’t think I’m up for watching it alone.”

Archie nodded as he struggled, trying to figure out where to put his hand. He settled with slinging his arm over the back of the sofa. “Ok.” He waited with anticipation while David used the remote to start the film. It would be his first time hearing what Cassie sounded like. He’d often wondered about it and imagined that she had the voice of an angel. He smiled softly as her image appeared on the screen. She was a bit thinner and more pale than she had been in some of the pictures that he had seen, but she was still beautiful. She was also exactly as David had described her. Charismatic and cheerful…even when she was sick.

They watched as she made her usual commentary, telling them why she had made this particular video.

_“I crammed as many happy, special moments as I could into 4 or 5 minutes and made a tribute video to out life together. I hope you like it, Baby. Oh…and I suppose now would be a good time to tell you who has been making sure you get these packages. Do you have any idea how hard it was to convince Andrew to help me out? He didn’t want to . He tried to talk me out of this, but you know me when I get my heart set on something. Tell him I said thanks again….k? Alright, well on to the video. Love you!”_

David smiled as the screen faded to black between videos. “Wait until I talk to Andrew.”

Archie grinned. “Like he could have said no to her.”

David laughed softly. “I know.”

Music began to play as a few random pictures came up on the screen. Archie recognized the it immediately as the theme song from Casper. “Remember Me This Way” how appropriate, he thought to himself.

Cassie had compiled home videos and photos ranging from the time they had met up until Addison’s arrival. Somewhere in the midst of the video montage, Archie’s hand found it’s way to David’s head, running his fingers lightly through his tussled, brown locks.

David remained still. He had missed the feeling of Archie’s fingers threading through his hair. It always seemed to calm him.

The last image that appeared on the screen was one of the whole family, Cassie, David, and baby Addison. It was a beautiful portrait.

When the screen went dark, David turned from his side to his back and looked up at Archie. He was shocked when he saw Archie’s eyes mirroring his. He silently reached up and wiped a stray tear from Archie’s cheek. “Thank you, Archie…” he said softly. “For everything. I don’t think I could have made it through all of this with out you.” He looked away for a second, collecting his thoughts. “I’m sorry that I’ve been such a jerk lately.”

A small smile played an Archie’s lips. “It’s ok. I understand.”

David was about to say something else when his cell phone went off. The familiar, annoying ring tone told Archie who it was. David reached into his pocket and pulled out the cell phone as he sat up. “Kim!” he greeted, causing Archie to roll his eyes and grab the remote to the TV. He turned off the DVD player and began flipping through the channels, trying not to listen to the conversation being had next to him.

“Kim…I don’t really want to get into this now,” he said with a sigh. “No. Of course I care…yes, I know it’s important to you. I…Kim?” He groaned and closed his phone, tossing it to the table nearby. He rubbed his hands over his face when noticed the look that Archie was giving him. “What?”

“Nothing.” he replied turning his attention back to the TV. Silence settled over them for several moments until Archie asked, “Why are you with her?”

David shook his head, but never met Archie’s gaze. “Because I like her.”

“What about Addie?”

“She adores her.”

Archie raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

“Yeah. I think I know my daughter well enough to know who she likes.”

“Hmm.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Archie was feeling brave. He did that a lot when it involved the most precious little girl that he’d ever met. “Addie doesn’t like Kim very much and she’s aware that Kim doesn’t like her either.”

David rolled his eyes. “What are you talking about? Kim loves Addie.”

“Are you blind, Cook?” David decided not to answer that question, instead he just gave Archie and incredulous look. Archie sighed. “All I’m saying is that I don’t think she’s right for you.”

David stoop up and turned to face Archie. “And who is, Archie? You?”

Archie sat, glued to his spot on the sofa, staring wide eyed at David. “I…I…didn’t…”

“I’ve told you before, I’m not like that!”

Archie glared at him. “Excuse me? Not like that?” Just a little over a month ago, he was telling him that he would always love him and now this?

“You know. Gay. I’m not into guys and I never will be.” David knew he had crossed the line. That he was just angry and taking it out on Archie, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“Cook?” Archie’s voice was small. The anger had turned to hurt. “I wasn’t implying that you and I should be together. I know that can never happen. I’ve accepted it and I have moved on. Why haven’t you?” Archie got up and walked to the door. “Maybe you should ask one of your not-so-gay friends about Kim.” And without another word, he left.

David sat down helplessly on the sofa. Why had he just done that? “You are such an asshole,” he scolded himself.

The show that night went on as every other show had. David was surprised when Archie introduced him with the same excitement and adoration that he had in the past. He wasn’t, however, surprised when Archie barely acknowledged him during the final song. He tried not to let it get to him, but in the end, he left the stage sulking and belittling himself. That night, David skipped the press and he didn’t go out to meet the fans. He used the excuse that he wasn’t feeling well and found his way back to the bus.

*****

Despite how much he had hoped that they’d work past it, they didn’t. Archie avoided him at all cost, only speaking to him when it was absolutely necessary. The other idols were baffled by the sudden rift between them.

Finally, they arrived in Tulsa on September 12th. It was their final stop. David decided to visit with Andy for a while before going Vivian’s.

“Hey, man!” Andy greeted as he let David into the apartment he shared with his girlfriend.

“Hey.” David made himself comfortable on the sofa. “Where’s the wife?”

Andy laughed. “She went to buy groceries. She should be back soon.”

“I have a problem.”

His friend rolled his eyes, leaving the room for a moment. “So what else is new?” He asked as he threw a beer to David when he returned.

“Thanks.”

“So what seems to be the problem.”

“Archie. Kim. Everything.”

“Oh?”

David sighed and leaned his head back against the sofa. “I’m so glad this is the end of the tour.”

“But I thought you loved it.”

“I did, but now…I just want it all to be over. Archie won’t even talk to me.”

Andy was surprised. That kid adored David. “What happened?”

David groaned. He knew Andy was going to ask for details. “I sort of just told him that I wasn’t like him. You know…gay.”

“Ok. So what’s wrong with that?”

“It was the way I said it, and the timing was way off. We weren’t even talking about that.”

“What were you talking about?”

“Kim.”

Andy nodded, but wasn’t sure what to think. “How did talking about Kim lead to talking about his sexuality?”

“He told me that Kim wasn’t right for me, and I got defensive.”

“Dave?” Andy began. “I’m going to be as gentle with you as I can.”

David eyed his friend and new he was in for a lecture. “Ok. Just give it to me straight.”

Andy nodded. “Would I give it to you any other way? Ok, so here’s the way I see it. Kim is everything that you never wanted. I get the feeling that you’re doing this for Addison. If that’s so, you need to stop. I don’t know if you have noticed, but Addison doesn’t particularly care for your girlfriend.”

“Does the fact that I like her mean anything?” David asked, not wanting to face the reality of the situation.

“Of course it does,” Andy said. “If you do indeed have those feelings for her.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Honestly. Dave, I think you’re dating her to get your mind off of certain boy who has you captivated.”

David’s eyes grew wide. “What?”

“C’mon, man. Have you no clue? I see the way you look at him.” Andy wanted to add that he’d only seen him look at one other person like that, but he decided it was best not to. “I don’t think you’re as straight as you want him to believe you are.”

 

*****

The next day during sound check, David found Archie sitting on the bus waiting his turn. “Hey, Arch?”

Archie looked up at the older man, but then turned his attention back to the book that he was reading.

“Will you please talk to me?”

“What do you want, David?” he asked without looking back up.

David’s breath hitched at the usage of his first name. Archie never used his first name. “Look, Arch, I’m really sorry. About everything. I know we’ve been through this before, but this time, I promise it will be different.”

Archie shook his head. “No. It won’t.” Slowly, he put the book down and stood up. “I’ve done a lot of growing up since idol began and even more so during the tour. I’ve learned a lot too. One of the things that I’ve learned is not to trust someone who repeatedly breaks your heart. I can’t do this again, David.” he had the glimmer of unshed tears in his eyes. “I just can’t.”

David stood speechless as the younger one walked around him and off the bus.

 

*****

Later that night, David stood backstage watching Archie do his set and waiting for his turn as he had always done, when something changed. Instead of Archie singing his Josh Groban cover, he explained that he would be doing something different.

“This next song…I’ve never performed on stage before, so please bare with me, and I hope you like it.”

David felt his stomach doing summersaults as the first few notes of the song began. He immediately felt the sting of tears.

_“Every now and then, we find a special friend who never lets us down. Who understands it all. Reaches out each time we fall. You’re the best friend that I’ve found.”_

David watched the emotion playing over Archie’s face as he sang the song perfectly. He wiped his face annoyed by the tears that were dripping from his eyes. This was not the time nor the place, he chastised himself.

_“I’ll make a wish for you and hope it will come true. That life will just be kind for such a gentle mind. If you lose your way, think back on yesterday. Remember me this way. OoohOooh Remember me this way...”_

Michael walked up behind him. “You ok, Mate?”

David nodded. “Yeah….just….can’t believe this is it. Ya know?”

Michael didn’t believe him for one minute. “Yeah….Kinda sad.”

_“I don’t need eyes to see, the love you bring to me no matter where I go, and I know that you’ll be there. Forever more a part of me, you’re everywhere. I’ll always care…”_

When Archie was finished, he didn’t do his normal introduction for Cook. That night he was leaving it to the other eight finalist on a pre-recorded video played over the jumbo tron. He left the stage, finding David at the bottom of the steps. He wasn’t shocked to see the slight run of eyeliner on his cheek as he walked up to him.

David’s eyes met his and it was all he could do to keep from breaking down right then and there. “Archie….”

Archie shook his head, silencing him. He reached up, wiping away the black smudge with his thumb. Then he placed a gentle kiss on David’s cheek. “Goodbye, David.”

They both ignored the looks they received from the others and as Archie walked away, David began walking up the steps to do his final set on the American Idol tour.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

The night in Tulsa was the last time he'd spoken to Archie. They'd gone through the final song without so much as a glance in the other's direction. After that, David had called, leaving message after message. He'd also attempted to reach him via e-mail, but Archie ignored him. He eventually changed his phone number and deleted his e-mail account. David finally gave up when he went to the head honchos at 19 Recordings and they'd refused to give him Archie's new contact information, sighting the reason being that Archie had left specific instructions for them not to give it out; to him especially. David was hurt. Actually he was more than hurt. Shattered was a more appropriate term. He knew that he had only himself to blame for it though.

He finally settled on the fact that he'd probably never get another chance to make things right with the younger David. About a month after the tour ended, he closed on a place in California and moved Addison and Kim in with him. Eventually, Andy and his girlfriend, Jeanie joined them. David was more than thrilled to have them living with him. The house was certainly big enough for them all, and Addison loved it. Plus it gave him a chance to work with Andy on their music. He was trying to be happy with the hand that life had dealt him. He had a firm belief that everything happened for a reason, and that he wasn't to question it.

So there it was. Album release day. It should be the happiest day of his life. Right? Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly as pleasant as he would have liked. As excited as he was about launching his first major label record, he had other things on his mind.

Earlier that morning, he'd received the shock of his life. While he was walking through the airport in New York, he happened to glance over at the magazine rack, and there on the cover of a popular ragmag was a picture of Archie. Cook had to do a doubletake to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He was almost certain that what he saw was Archie making out with another guy. He grabbed the magazine up and stared in horror as he read aloud. _"Archuleta comes out?"_ He paid for the magazine and stuffed into his bag for safe keeping until he had time to read it.

That free time still hadn't come. He'd been to several interviews, TV shows, and signings throughout the day. Finally he was on his way to the hotel that he would be staying at for the night. He hurried into his suite and threw his bags down on the floor near the door. He dug for the now slightly crumpled magazine. He spread it out on the counter in the kitchenette to read _. "David Archuleta shocked family and friends at the platinum party for his first single 'Crush,' by showing up hand in hand with fellow label mate, Ryan Bates. The two were later spotted “locking lips in a darkened corner,” say sources close to the idol runner-up."_

David stared at the picture that accompanied the story. It was from a different angle than the first one. He wanted it to be fake, so badly, but he wasn't sure that one could manipulate a photo that well.

Feeling quite nauseated, he stumbled to the sink to get a glass of water, needing something to make his stomach stop rolling. He was about to go back to put the magazine away when his cell phone rang. He closed his eyes taking a moment to clear his mind before he answered. “Hey, Baby."

"Saw you on TV this morning. You were brilliant!" Kim said, excitedly.

He smiled, feeling somewhat flattered. "Thanks."

"How's it going there? Addie good?"

"Things are fine. Addison is fine. She and Andy went somewhere to get dinner," she explained. "Oh! Know what else I saw today?"

David walked back to the counter and hopped up on the barstool. "What did you see?"

"Well," Kim began, as if she had just heard the juiciest gossip. "I was in the checkout line at Walgreens, because I had to get some more of that perfume that you know I love, and I was reading the covers of all the ragmags there like I always do. One in particular caught my eye."

David shuddered, and fought the urge to throw up as he braced himself for what was to come.

"It seems little Archie had a big secret."

"Kim...."

"He was caught making out with Ryan Bates. I mean of all people! I would have never thought that Archie was... well...I guess it's not _that_ surprising. He did kind of have a feminine way about him."

"Kim...." He tried again.

"I wonder what his family thought. I mean, they're like devout Catholics or something like that. Imagine how they reacted."

David sighed, realizing that there would be no chance of getting her to shut up about this. “Mormon. They're Mormon."

"Same thing. Can you believe this?"

"No. I'm kinda shocked, actually," he replied, finally looking back at the magazine that lay spread open before him. "Look, babe. I'm really tired. I think I'm going to call it a night. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Alright. Tell Addie I said goodnight, I love her, and that I'll call her tomorrow. Ok?"

"I'll tell her if she'll even acknowledge that I exist."

"Again?"

"Yes. Started this Morning I have no idea what I did. I'm assuming I didn't make the right kind of pancakes."

David sighed. "I'll talk to her about it."

"Don't bother. I'll talk to you later. Love you."

"You too. Bye, hun." He closed his phone and stared at the picture of Archie and Ryan for a while longer before folding it back up. He tossed it into the waste basket nearby. He didn’t ever want to see that again.

*****

Once he was back home, he was able to focus on his upcoming tour that would be starting in January. It was mid December on one of his rare days off, he was sitting in his living room with his laptop, answering e-mails while Addison watched cartoons. Kim had gone shopping with Jeanie, and Andy was running some errands of his own. He was shocked to see an e-mail from Carly. He looked at the date, hoping that it hadn’t been too long since she sent it. Sometimes he went several days, even weeks without getting a chance to check his mail. It was, as he’d dreaded, several weeks old. He opened it, wondering what she was e-mailing him about.

His stomach rolled when he saw the photo of Archie and Ryan in the body of the e-mail. The one he never wanted to see again. “Damn it, Carly,” he hissed lowly. Then he began to read the message that she had typed below. _“He didn’t shock his family this way. He came out to them during the Idol tour. Thought you might like to know. By the way, how are you and Addie? Miss you guys.”_

David’s mouth went dry. He wondered what his family thought. Obviously, they hadn’t been too hard on him. They seemed fine the last time he had seen them. He hit the reply button.

_“Hey Carls, How are you? Addison and I are great. She’s happy living here too, though I think she misses my Mom and Vivian and the rest of our family. It helps that Andy and Jeanie are here now. She’s not ‘as’ homesick. Kim is well too. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you on this. I don’t have a lot of time on my hands right now. So those pictures are real? I wasn’t sure what to believe when I first saw them. They were in the ragmags, so I didn‘t know. He came out to them while we were on the tour? How come I didn’t know anything about this? Thank you for telling me, by the way. I couldn’t see him dropping the bomb on them like that. ~D”_

He hit send and moved on to his next e-mail, although his mind wasn’t on what ever information it may have contained. He finally gave up on trying to concentrate on them and shut the computer off. “Addie, can I watch cartoons with you?”

She smiled up at him from her spot on the floor. “Sure!”

David set his laptop aside and crawled onto the floor with his daughter. “What are we watching?” He asked as he lay down on his stomach, propping his head up on his hands.

“Spongebob.” Addison replied, turning her attention back to the TV.

“Oh boy!”

He didn’t lay there very long before his cell phone started ringing. He rolled to his side and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Hello?”

“Davey!”

“Carly! Hey, I just sent you an e-mail.”

“I know. Unlike some people, I don’t wait a month to read mine.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.”

“Too busy for your friends?” She teased. “Oh, I forgot. You’re a big rockstar now. No time for us peons.”

“So true,” he conceded.

“Hey!”

“What? You said it.”

“But you weren’t supposed to agree!”

“Sorry.” He laughed lightly. “How are you Carly?”

“I am good. Can’t complain. How are you?”

“Good. Addie and I are watching Spongebob.”

“Ah. So, have you talked to Archie?”

David sighed. She didn’t waste time. “No. Not since the tour.”

“Oh, Davey, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was my own fault. I complicated things and said things that I shouldn’t have. I probably deserve this.”

“His family was actually supportive, you know.”

“I kinda figured that seeing as how they didn’t kill him on the tour.”

“They knew about you too.”

Cook sat up quickly, his heart starting to pound in his chest. “What!?”

“Davey…the boy was confused as hell. He’d never even had a crush before. You’d be confused to if you found yourself in love with someone. Especially someone of the same sex. He need to talk to someone he trusted. Who better than his parents?”

“But-but-what about the church and stuff aren’t they supposed to like not believe in…”

“Cook…they love Archie. For them, it’s what ever makes him happy. They’re not HAPPY that he’s into other boys, but they support his decisions.”

“Oh, God. They probably think I corrupted him.”

“Well didn’t you?” She asked with a laugh.

“No! He kissed me!” His eyes widened when he realized that Addison was still there. “I didn’t initiate anything.”

“Relax. I was joking.” They were both quiet for a moment. “So how are you doing with the fact that he’s seeing someone?”

“What?” David really didn’t want to have this discussion.

“Are you ok?”

He sighed. “Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know…because you love him?” Carly reminded him, her voice becoming serious.

David chewed thoughtfully on his lip before answering her. “I’m trying to get past that.” He looked up hearing the back door open. “Carly, I have to go. I think Kim’s home.”

“Alright. Don’t be such a stranger, Cook. I would like to keep in touch more often.”

He smiled. “Ok. I will try harder this time. Promise.”

“I’m going to hold you too that.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“Alright. Later, Davey.”

“Later, Carly.” He smiled as he hung up the phone. He missed her. Even when she was yelling at him in her thick Irish accent, for being an asshole. He looked up as Andy walked into the room. “Oh. It’s you. I thought it was Kim and Jeanie.”

“Nope. Just me,” he said as Addison jumped up to give him a hug. “Hey, girly!”

*****

Archie walked into his house wondering where everyone was. He had some time off before he started gearing up for the tour he would be joining. He still lived in Utah for the time being. His family insisted that he stay until he was at least eighteen. He had no problem with that. After all, he was only weeks away. He found his Mom in the kitchen. She was making dinner. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hey, David.”

“What are you cooking?”

“Your father’s favorite Taco Bake. Did you want something special?”

“No. That’s fine.” He sat down on the stool near where she was working.

“Something wrong, Davey?

He shook his head. “No.”

“Your friend called while you were out.”

Archie looked up at her. “Which?”

His mother raised a disapproving brow. “Mr. Bates. He left a message for you. It’s on the fridge.”

Archie sighed. “I’ll call him later.” He sat silently for a while before suddenly saying, “I’m sorry, Mama.”

“For what, dear?” Lupe asked, putting her utensils down to give him her undivided attention.

He looked down, playing with a string of cheese that had fallen over the side of the dish. “For everything. I’ve been such a disappointment to you and Dad.”

Lupe looked at her son, a pained expression on her face. “Oh, Davey…”

Archie had tears spilling over his cheeks. “I didn’t mean to…to…like men.”

His mom was around the counter in no time at all, cradling him in her arms. “Shhh…. You’re my son. And I love you, no matter what. You could never be a disappointment to me. Do you understand?”

Archie nodded pressing his face into his mothers shoulder. “I love you, Mom.”

Lupe held her son for a long time before his tears subsided. “Now, tell your mama why the sudden tears.”

Archie sobbed, looking up at her. “I…I don’t know. I just…feel so lost right now.”

She smiled warmly at him, before pulling him back into her embrace. “Your heart is still mending, my son. It will take time.”

He nodded. “I still love him.”

Lupe felt the sting of tears in her eyes as her heart ached for her son. “I know.”

“How can I make it stop?”

“I don’t think you can. It’s one of those things that will just have to fade with time.”

Archie didn’t like the sound of that. He didn’t see it fading. If anything it was becoming stronger.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

By mid February, David’s tour was going strong. He was having quite a ride. But one day in particular, he had acquired something in which he didn’t quite know what to do with. While he was in Texas, he had dinner with Jason and his girlfriend. They’d talked about the other Idols in passing. Jason, of course, had kept in touch with Archie. He even had updated contact information. He was nice enough to offer up the new phone number, thinking that maybe Archie had moved on enough so that he could at least talk to David.

So there he was on his bus somewhere in the middle of nowhere, heading to Georgia. He sat on the sofa, playing with the phone in his hands. He’d been repeating the same routine for over an hour, just punching in the number letting his thumb linger over the ‘send’ key for a few seconds before deciding to hit ‘end’ instead.

"Fucking call him already," Andy demanded from his seat on the other side of the bus. He was getting quite annoyed.

"Call who?" Neal asked, looking from one friend to the other.

Andy glared at him. "You know who."

David sighed and put the phone in his pocket before he picked up his guitar that was propped up on the sofa beside of him. "I’m not calling him," he said as his fingers feathered over the strings.

After exchanging worried glances, Neal and Andy went back to working on the song they were discussing.

Later that afternoon, the bus pulled up to the hotel that would be their home for three nights. The three friends shared an elevator up to their floor and walked to the end of the hall where David’s suite was adjacent to their double. He declined the invitation to join them in a writing session, saying that he was tired and just going to get some sleep.

Once he was settled into his room, David plopped down on the bed, staring aimlessly at the ceiling. Sleep was the last thing on his mind. He thought maybe he should just call. What was the worst thing that could happen? Archie could hang up on him. That was nothing that he hadn’t experienced in the past.

Finally, he decided to just end his own misery. He pulled the cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open. He scrolled down a few names, until it landed on "Archie." After a moment’s hesitation, he hit the send key and put the phone to his ear.

After the second ring, he let go of his breath in relief, figuring that it was going to go to voice mail. However, that’s not what happened.

"Hello?" An uncertain voice answered.

David opened his mouth to reply, but nothing happened. It was like his voice just left him.

"Hello?" Archie asked again. "Look, if you’re not going to talk, I’m going to hang up."  
  
"No!" Cook surprised himself.

The other end of the line was quiet for a moment before he came back on. "C-Cook?"

David grinned despite himself. He’d used _Cook_ instead of _David._ He wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not, but he was going to believe it was. Just for his own pleasure. "Hey, Archie."

"Wh-how-who gave you my number? Was it Carly? No! I’ll bet it was Jason. What did you bribe him with?" Archie rambled on. "Wait. No. Never mind all of that. Why are you calling me?"

David swallowed thickly, feeling more butterflies in his stomach than he ever had before. What if he said what he really wanted? That he loved him? Missed him, and that he didn’t want to live another moment without him in his life? He had a hunch that was not what Archie wanted to hear.

"Cook?"

"What? Oh. Sorry." He shook his head, trying to make the thought of confessing his true love, go away. "I uh...just wondered how you’re doing."

"I’m fine," Archie said, trying not to let his resolve down. It worked pretty well. He was getting much better at hiding his true emotions. "How are you?"

"Doing good."

"And Addie?"

David smiled at the thought of his daughter and then of how she adored Archie. "Addie is wonderful. Growing. She asks about you all the time."

"I think about her a lot,’ Archie confessed. "I miss her."

That inflicted an enormous amount of pain on David. Obviously the boy didn’t feel the same about him. "I bought her a copy of your CD. She listens to it all the time."

Archie smiled softly. "She’s such a sweet heart." Then he breathed deeply, reminding himself to whom he was talking. "I’ll bet Kim just loves that," he said before he could stop the words from flowing out of his mouth.

David cringed. Nope. Archie wasn’t bitter. Not at all. "I think it’s pretty great, myself. Ya know?"

"Thanks. I heard yours is doing well for itself."

"Yeah. Have you heard it?"

"Actually, no. I’ve just been told about it," Archie replied, silently scolding himself for lying.

David nodded even though he knew Archie couldn’t see him. "How’s your family?"

"They’re good. Look, Cook. I have to go."

"Oh. Ok. Well maybe I could call you again sometime?"

Archie was silent for a moment, trying to think of a way to respond to that.

"Arch?"

"Um..." he stammered. "I...I don’t think that’s a good idea."

"Archie, please!" David pleaded. "Why can’t we be friends?"

"We tried that, Cook," Archie explained. "Remember what happened?"

"Yeah, but Arch..."

"Don’t say it will be different this time. We both know it won’t."

David didn’t know how to respond to that. So, he just said the first thing that came to mind. "I miss having you in my life, and it will be different this time. You and I both have significant others, therefore it shouldn’t be as complicated."

Archie closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You saw the tabloids, huh?"  
  
"Yeah."

"The truth is, Cook," he began, not really knowing why he felt the need to elaborate. "Ryan isn’t exactly my significant other. He’s a friend. And honestly, I’m working really hard on getting over you and I can’t do that if you won’t leave me alone." After a long silence, Archie sighed. "Why don’t you get it, Cook?"

David did get it. He got it loud and clear. And it hurt like hell. He wished he wasn’t such a coward. "You know how I feel about you, Archie."

"Yeah." Archie’s voice cracked, indicating that his emotions were getting difficult to control. "I know, Cook. And, I know that you’re never going to be able to face up to the fact that you fell in love with another..."

"Arch..."

"No, Cook. Listen to me. I was fine with you dating Kim and not wanting to take things seriously with me; When I thought you were doing it for Addie’s sake. But now? Now that I know you’re doing it because you are afraid, I’m not ok with it."

David wondered when exactly Archie grew up and developed communication skills that lacked his usual gushing and stammering. Archie seemed confident. That only added to David’s own self loathing. "I am still doing this for Addie."

Archie snickered. "No you’re not. It stopped being about Addison a long time ago, and you know it."

David closed his eyes, shaking his head slowly. Archie was right. It had nothing to with Addison. If he were being honest with himself, which he wasn’t, he’d say that Addison would much rather have Archie as a parental figure than Kim. David’s breath caught in his throat as he realized what thoughts had just crossed his mind. What in the hell was he supposed to do now?

Archie let out an audible sigh. "I have to go, Cook. Tell Addie I said hi. Ok?"

"Yeah. Ok," he replied, brushing the back of his hand over his cheek to wipe away a tear. He closed his cell phone, feeling a rush of anger coursing through his veins. He growled as he chucked the phone across the room, watching as it flew into several pieces when it ht the wall. He got up and walked over to the mini bar.

*****

Andy and Neal were in their room working on a song that they were writing when there was a knock on the door.

Andy put his guitar down and stood up to go answer it. "Dave, what the hell, man?"

David didn’t say anything. He just looked at his friend through bloodshot, watery eyes before walking over to their mini bar where he proceeded to pull out various bottles of liquor. Andy glanced over at Neal who was watching David too. They both had the same idea as David carried the bottles back out of the room and across the hall. Quickly Andy followed him so that he could get into the room with him, while Neal took the time to grab their room key and close their door behind him.

"Dave, what happened?" Andy asked as they walked into David’s suite. He looked around seeing all the empty bottles laying around. The mini bar door was still open. It was empty. He gave Neal a worried look as he joined them. Then he saw the broken cell phone laying on the floor, and he knew.

"You called him?"

For the first time since they entered the room, David looked at his friend, dropping the new bottles awkwardly on the bed as he crawled on top. "He hates me." He opened up one of the bottles without even looking to see what it was.

Andy’s eyes grew even wider as he chugged the whole thing in one drink. "Did he say that?"

"May as well have."

David reached for another bottle but Neal stopped him. "I think you have had enough."

He shook his head. "No," he protested as tears began to stream down his cheeks once again. "I...I can still feel," he sobbed. "It still hurts." He grasped the front of his shirt over his heart. "I need to make it go away."

Andy looked at Neal who was gathering up the bottles so that David couldn’t have any more. "What do we do, man?" He asked the question in a hushed tone as David grabbed a pillow and hugged it to him as she curled up into the fetal position in the middle of the bed.

"I don’t know. Give him plenty of water and aspirin until he sobbers up a bit? I’ve never seen him like this."

"You have any aspirin?"

"Yeah. I’ll go get it."

"Get some ice while you’re at it."

After Neal left the room, Andy sat down on the edge of the bed where David was laying. "Dave? You want to talk about it?" He asked, looking down into his friend’s sad eyes.

David looked at him blankly. "He still won’t forgive me." Andy didn’t say anything. He just continued to listen as David babbled, drunkenly on about the conversation he’d had on the phone with Archie. He’d pretty much gone through the whole thing by the time that Neal returned with the aspirin and ice.

Andy got up and filled a cup with ice and water while Neal opened the aspirin. "Did he say anything?"

"Yeah. It sucks. Archie doesn’t want to have anything to do with him."

"God, you would think that he’d give poor Dave a break. He’s been through so much."

"Well, the kid’s hurt. I can’t say I wouldn’t be the same way, dude."

"Are you taking his side?"

"I’m not taking sides. I’m just saying. I know Archie and he’s not the kind that would intentionally hurt someone, and he certainly doesn’t deserve this either."

"Ok..." Neal handed him the aspirin to take to David.

*****

Archie sat numbly in his favorite chair, staring blankly at the TV. His Mom and Dad were out for the afternoon and he was stuck babysitting Jazzy. Thankfully, she had fallen asleep about an hour before David called. He shook his head, wishing that he’d followed his first instinct and not answered his phone.

He was still sitting there an hour later when his parents returned. Lupe stopped in the doorway, taking in his appearance, causing Jeff to collide with her back. "Honey?"

"Shh..."

Jeff looked past her into the living room at Archie. He looked like his dog just died. He moved past his wife to stand in front of Archie. "Son, what is wrong?"

Archie looked up at him with tear filled eyes. "Dad! When did you get back?"

"Just now. Care to tell your mother and me what is wrong?"

He shook his head. "It’s nothing."

Lupe came to sit on the chair arm beside of him. She placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on his head, stroking his hair gently. "David, you know you can tell us anything."

He nodded. "I know, Mama. I just....I don’t...." he groaned hating the way his emotions messed with his ability to speak. "Cook called."

Lupe looked up at Jeff with sad eyes before turning her attention back to David. "He did?"

"Yeah. And...he... I don’t know. Thinks we can be friends." He leaned his head against his mom’s side as she continued to hug him.

Both of his parents nodded, understanding where this was going. "And what do you think about it?" Jeff asked.

Archie shook his head slowly. "I..." he sobbed softly. "I don’t think it’s a good idea."

At that time, Jazzy decided to enter the room, awake from her nap. "What happened to Davey?" she asked, worried about her big brother.

"Nothing, sweetheart," Jeff answered. "You go on and play, now."

Jazzy looked at Archie with wide eyes. She wasn’t a baby. She knew what was going on. "It’s that boy again, isn’t it? Cook? He’s always hurting you." She shook her head as she started to walk away. "This is why, I am becoming a nun!"

Jeff sighed and turned to leave also, mumbling "Maybe we should all convert to something else."

Archie looked up at his mom. "What do you think I should do, Mom?"

Lupe shook her head. "What ever your heart tells you to do, my son."

He nodded and soon he was calm again. "Mom?"

"Yes?"

"I think I want to move out."

Lupe gasped. That was the last thing she expected to hear. She thought he’d kind of decided that living at home wasn’t that bad after all. "What?"

"Yeah. I want to move to LA. I think I should get an apartment there. It would be easier for me, ya know with recording and stuff."  
  
"But you won’t be recording again until after the tour."

"I know, but by then I could be settled in, ya know?"

She nodded. "I suppose. What brought this on?"

"I don’t know. I just need a change, I guess."

"Alright. Well...you need to talk to your father."

"I know. I will." Archie replied, contentedly, closing his eyes while Lupe stayed put, still stroking his hair.

*****

Andy and Neal sat at the small bar in the kitchenette, playing cards while David slept. It was almost 9:00 when he finally began to stir. He sat up drowsily hoping that it had all been a nightmare. However, feeling the symptoms of a slight hangover made him aware that it wasn’t. "What time is it?" He asked.

"Time for you to get your ass up," Neal said.

David flipped him off before putting his hands to his face to rub his sore eyes.

"It’s almost 9:00," Andy said.

"Shit. Can I use your phone?" He asked, not really wanting to mess with the whole ‘dialing out’ thing that hotels made you go through.

"Sure, if you promise not to smash it against the wall."

David glared at him as the phone was tossed his way. "Thanks." He scrolled down Andy’s contact list looking for his Mom’s phone number. Once he found it, he hit the send key and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" Came the small voice on the other end.

David smiled. "Hey, Princess."

"Daddy!!!!"

"What’s up?"

"Gramma’s teaching me to dance."

"She is?"

"Yeah. When you coming home?"

"In a few weeks."

He talked with her a while, like he did every single night. He was glad his two best friends had kept him from missing that. When he hung up the phone, he gave it back to Andy. "Thanks, man."

"No, problem. Do you need to call Kim?"

David grimaced. "Um...I think she’ll survive one night without my call."


	16. CHapter Sixteen

Archie finished unpacking and was now sitting in the middle of his new apartment. It was perfect for him. Soon, he was pulled out of his thoughts by the chime of the door bell ringing he wondered who could possibly be visiting him so soon. He looked through the peep hole and smiled.

“Hey, you!” He said as he opened the door. “How did you know where I was?”

“Your mom. I think I’m starting to win her over.”

Archie rolled his eyes. “I doubt that.”

“Well, I tried calling, but somebody changed their number again without telling me.”

“Oh! Sorry,” Archie began as he closed the door once his friend was inside. “I forgot. I’ll give you the new one.”

Ryan grinned. “I’d be devastated if you didn’t. Might think I was the reason you changed it.”

“No. Of course not. Just another fan,” Archie explained. “You know how it is.”

“Yeah. You done here? Wanna go out?”

Archie looked around. There really wasn’t anything left to do that couldn’t wait until the next day. “Sure. Just let me take a shower and get ready.”

 

*****

A few weeks later, David had a small break in the tour. He flew to Missouri to get Addison before finally returning to LA. He’d managed to pull himself together after that night in Georgia. He knew that he needed to face reality and stop hurting himself and the people he loved.

Kim was waiting for them when they walked up the walkway. “Welcome home!” She greeted, giving David a kiss. “I missed you do much.”

He smiled, holding Addison in his arms. “Missed you too,” he replied, squeezing by her to go inside.

“Daddy, I’m hungry.” Addison said as David dropped his backpack on the sofa.

“You want me to make you some macaroni and cheese?” Kim asked.

Addison shook her head looking at her dad. “Daddy.”

“Honey,” Kim tried. “Daddy’s tired. “We should let him rest.”

“It’s ok, Kim. I’ve got it,” David said, putting Addison down. “You want to go play while I get it for you?”

She nodded. “Yep!”

David watched her trot off toward her playroom. “Hey!” he said causing her to stop and turn back around. “You want some chicken nuggets too?”

“Yeah!” She exclaimed. It had been settled a long time ago that when ever they bought groceries they were a must. They kept them in stock. He gave Kim a sympathetic smile as he walked towards the kitchen.

“Why do you spoil her like that?” Kim asked.

“What?” David asked, obviously surprised by the question.

“She needs to learn that she can’t always get what she wants. How do you expect her to learn if you give into her every request.”

“Kim, it’s mac & cheese. I think I can handle it. Besides, so what if I do spoil her? She’s my baby and I’ll give her anything she wants.”

Kim rolled her eyes. “That’s not good parenting, David. There has to be rules.”

He groaned inwardly as he set the timer on the oven for the chicken nuggets. “What right do you have telling me what’s good parenting? Addison is a good kid.”

“A good kid? A good child would not treat an adult the way she treats me. Or maybe you could explain why she hates me.”

David took a kettle down from the rack and began filling it with water. “Maybe she has her reasons,” he mumbled.

Kim’s eyes grew wide at what she thought she heard. “Excuse me?!”

David sighed and turned off the water. “Look, Kim. I’m really too tired to fight. Can we please not do this?”

She threw her hands in the air. “Fine. You stay here and treat her like a little princess all you want. I’m going shopping.”

He finished putting the macaroni on the stove to cook as she walked out their back door, keys in hand. “Welcome home indeed,” he said to himself.

“Where’s Kim?” Addison asked as she came running into the kitchen with ‘Archie.’

“She went out for a while,” David replied. He put a lid on the pot of macaroni. “C’mere.” He motioned to Addison as he walked to the table and sat down in one of the wooden chairs. Addison climbed up onto his lap. He picked her up and set her down on the edge of the table so that she was facing him. “Can we talk?”

She nodded her head, smiling brightly at him.

“Ok. Cool.”

“Is Kim mad?”

He frowned. “Why do you ask?”

“She was loud.”

“Oh.” David laughed softly. “She was a little upset. She thinks that you don’t like her.” He noticed how the child looked down at the baby doll in her hands. David put a finger under her chin and lifted her face up to look at him. “Addie, I want you to tell me the truth. Ok?” He took a deep breath as she nodded. “Do you like Kim?”

Her face contorted into what looked to be a pained expression and she avoided David’s gaze. “I did.”

“But you don’t now?” She shook her head, so he continued. “Why?”

“She made you cry.”

David tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “When?”

“When she yelled at you about Mommy. Remember?”

He remembered. “Oh. That made you not like her?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry Daddy.”

David’s heart melted. He hugged her tightly. “Oh, honey…” he soothed. “It’s ok. I just…Addie,” he said, pulling back to look at her again. “If Daddy ever has a friend that you don’t like, or a friend that has done something to hurt you, I want you to tell me. Ok?”

She nodded, that beautiful smile returning to her face, and she giggled. “I like Archie!”

David shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was. As he always was when Addison randomly mentioned him.

“Daddy!” Addison shouted, her eyes wide, pointing towards the stove where the pot of macaroni was boiling over.

“Shit!” He sprang up from his seat to run to the stove.”

Addison giggled as David pulled the pot from the burner. He let another string of obscenities leave his mouth as he splashed a bit of hot water on his hand.

Finally, he had things under control. He looked over in time to see Addison attempting to climb down from where he had set her on the table. “Addie, wait!” he called to her. Thankfully, she stopped moving until he was able to help her down.

Then while she wondered off to play again, he finished getting her dinner. He set two plates of macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets on the table to cool while he went to find her. She was standing by the back door looking out the window. “Addie, dinner is ready.”

She turned to him, grinning widely. David laughed, seeing that she was sporting the cute little sunglasses that Archie had bought her while they were on tour.

“You are just too cute, Princess.”

She did a little curtsy. “Thanks. I know.”

He then let out another hearty laugh and scooped her up, quickly, causing her to squeal in delight. Suddenly, David didn’t want to return to the tour without her. Maybe he could hire a nanny.

David and Addison were sitting at the table eating when Andy and Jeanie returned home from wherever they had been. “Oh! Just in time for dinner!” Andy exclaimed, sitting down beside of David while Jeanie sat between him and Addison.

“It’s fend for yourself tonight. I only made enough for us.”

“Where’s Kim?”

“Said she was going shopping. She was mad, so who knows when she’ll be back.”

“Uh-oh. Lovers quarrel?” Jeanie asked.

“Something like that.” He handed Addison another napkin to wipe the ketchup off her face. “What’s that?” He asked, noticing the stack of papers in Andy’s arms.

Andy looked at Jeanie, then back to David. “Tabloids.”

David arched an eyebrow. “Really? Anything interesting?”

“Kinda,” Andy said uneasily.

“Oh Well. Couldn’t be any worse than what I have already seen.”

Andy laid one down in front of him. On the cover was a picture of Archie with the headline, “American Idol’s Golden Boy goes Hollywood.”

“He’s living in LA?”

“According to this.”

Cook nodded. “What was so bad about that?”

“It gets worse,” Jeanie explained.

David chewed thoughtfully on the nugget he’d just put in his mouth. “Oh.” David pushed his plate away when Andy laid the whole stack down. He began to look through them. Archie was on the cover of at least eight different ragmags with Ryan and a few other people. The shots told pretty much everything that he needed to know.

“Looks like our Archie is turning into quite the wild child,” Andy pointed out.

Hearing Archie’s name made Addison lean over and look at the top paper. She gasped loudly and stood up on her chair with her hands on her hips. “She’s kissing my Archie!” She shrieked, before climbing down from the table and stomping off towards the living room.

If David hadn’t been so preoccupied by the photos of Archie locking lips with the likes of five different people, men and woman, he would have found her reaction amusing.

“She?” Kim asked as she walked into the kitchen.

“I thought you went shopping.”

“I started to. Then I felt bad about the things I said, so I came back.” She looked down at the ragmags laying on the table. “Oh my God! Is that Chace Crawford?” She giggled. “Lucky little shit.” She continued to look at the different pictures. “Oh. So he’s bi? That’s interesting. Geez…there’s a name for guys like this…”

“Kim,” Jeanie warned.

“What?”

Before anyone could explain it to her, David got up and left the room. She jumped slightly when she heard the basement door slam shut. “What’s his problem?”

Jeanie just looked away and Andy sat there giving her the most sympathetic look anyone could give.

She looked down at the papers again and suddenly the pieces started to come together. “Oh…” she said softly as she sat down in the chair that David had previously occupied. “Oh!” She said more loudly as it all clicked. Tears suddenly filled her eyes and she looked up at Andy and Jeanie. “You guys knew about this all along?”

Andy nodded slowly, not wanting to meet her eyes.

Kim felt her stomach doing flip flops as all the thoughts rushed through her head. “Oh my God.” She said before a sob escaped. “How….I…I think I’m going to be sick,” she cried, getting up to run from the kitchen.

Jeanie looked at Andy with sad eyes. “I actually feel terrible for her.”

Andy nodded. “She had to find out someday.”

*****

Later that night, David finally came back up from his basement studio. Andy and Jeanie were in the living room. He paused by the door.

“You ok?” Andy asked.

“I’m fine,” he replied. “Where are the girls?”

“I put Addie to bed,” Jeanie said. “I think Kim went to bed also.”

David nodded. “Ok. Goodnight guys.” He walked down the hallway, stopping at Addison’s room. He went in to find her sleeping peacefully. He placed a kiss on her head and whispered goodnight to her before going on to the bedroom he shared with Kim.

She was laying on her side of the bed, facing the wall. David closed the door and went to the bed. He stood there for a moment, looking at her before dropping down onto the bed beside of her, resting his back against the headboard. “Are you awake?” he asked, his voice soft and apologetic.

Kim took a deep breath before turning over to face him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve been totally honest with anyone. Myself included.”

“Dave, we’ve been together for almost a year. A year!” She said, trying to understand the whole situation. “How could you lead me on like that?”

He groaned. “I care about you, Kim. I really do. I thought that maybe I could make it work.”

“But it wasn’t ever going to. Was it?”

He shook his head sadly. He hated the fact that he’d basically used her. “I’m sorry.”

She looked up at the ceiling before setting up beside of him, resting her back against the headboard also. “It hurts, David. It hurts a lot.” She choked on her tears. “I really do love you, and I really thought that we had a chance.”

He couldn’t look at her. Instead, he stared at his hands that were folded in his lap. “I love you, too, Kim. I’m just….Just, not in love with you.”

She sobbed. “I know.”

David reached over and took her hand in his, holding it gently. “I have been a complete ass. To everyone. To you and Archie especially.”

“He doesn’t know that you’re in love with him?” Kim asked, wiping tears away with her hand.

“Oh he knows.”

Kim closed her eyes. “Did you guys…ever….ya know?” She knew it wasn’t her business, but she wanted to know.

David finally looked at her, wondering why she would ask that question, and then it dawned on him. “Would it disgust you if we had?”

Her eyes flew open, locking with his. “What? No! Of course not.”

Ok, so he had read that wrong. “No. It never went beyond kissing with us.”

She nodded. “I hope that you find the courage you need to go after him.”

That shocked David. He hadn’t expected her to be understanding let alone supportive. “Really?”

She sobbed again, shaking her head. “I was an idiot not to see it, David. The way you two looked at each other. The constant need to touch each other. It all makes sense now.”

David still wasn’t sure what to think. “Kim, I…”

“It’s ok. And you know what?” She asked. “Addie loves him.”

He sighed. “I know.”

“I think that should account for something.”

They sat on the bed and talked like that for over two hours, finally getting everything out in the open. Finally around 2 am, she was starting to drift off to sleep while still sitting. David leaned over and placed a tiny kiss on her head. “You need to sleep.”

“Mmmhmm,” she agreed, moving around so that she was laying on the bed.

David started to get up, grabbing a pillow. “I’ll sleep in the guest room.”

She grabbed his arm. “No,” she whimpered. “Please stay. Just for tonight.’

David figured he’d already put her through enough, he could at least stay the rest of the night with her. He nodded and slipped comfortably into the bed beside of her. They fell asleep facing each other, but not touching.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

The weeks went by and the articles on Archie’s behavior kept appearing. David made himself stay out of it. He had no right to interfere. No matter how much it hurt him to see Archie like that. It was his life to live. Soon David’s tour pulled into the state of Utah. He was going to be doing a show in Salt Lake City, fifteen minutes or less from Archie’s hometown of Murray. He had the whole day before the concert to do some sight seeing or what ever he wanted to do.

Even he was surprised to find himself standing on the Archuleta’s doorstep. Addison who had fallen asleep in the rental car on the drive over was cradled in his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. He had already rang the doorbell before the panic stuck. What was he doing? He was probably the last person Jeff & Lupe wanted to see. They probably thought of him as the corruptor of their innocent, naïve son. He was almost ready to turn around and get back in the car when the door swung open. “David?” Lupe asked, looking quite surprised.

David smiled sheepishly. “Hi, Mrs. Archuleta.”

She held the door open for him. “Please, come in.”

David smiled politely at her as he walked inside. “Thanks. How have you been?”

“I’ve been doing good. How have you been?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been ok.”

She ushered him into the living room. “Please sit. I’ll get you a blanket so that you can lay her down.”

“Oh, no,” David insisted as he took a seat on a simple beige arm chair. “You don’t have to. I can hold her.”

Lupe shook her head. “Nonsense. They get heavy quickly.”

David sat there while Lupe disappeared for a few moments. He looked around at all the family photos. He was surprised when his eyes fell upon a framed picture on the end table. It was of ‘him’ and Archie. He found that quite interesting. That the Archuleta’s would have such a picture out for all to see. He was still looking at it when Lupe returned with a big fluffy blanket. He smiled up at her as she folded it and laid it on the floor near him.

“There you go. It will make a nice comfy bed for her.” She carefully extracted the sleeping child from his arms, trying not to wake her. David watched at she laid her down gently, stroking her hair softly before she got back up. “Such a beautiful baby,” she said.

“Thank you,” He replied. “I’m sorry to just show up like this. I’m doing a show in Salt Lake City tomorrow and since I was so close, I thought I would come visit. I hope I’m not intruding.”

Lupe sat down on the sofa across from the chair that David occupied. “No. Not at all. I’m happy to see you. Jeff is out running a few errands with the kids, but will be back shortly,” She explained before her smile faltered. “However, David’s not here.”

“Oh. I know. I heard that he moved to LA.”

She nodded. “Yes. He’s out there. He said it would be easier for him to work from there once the tour was over.”

“How long will he be on tour?”

“It starts in 3 weeks. He’ll be on the road until mid June. Then he’ll have a break before going back out in August.”

“Oh.”

“How about you?”

“Well, this leg ends in two weeks. Then I’m going back into the studio for a while. The second leg of the tour starts in May.”

Lupe got back up from her seat. “Can I get you something to drink?” She asked, walking towards the kitchen. “Iced tea? Soda?”

“Which ever is fine,” he replied. He felt a little antsy sitting there in the Archuleta’s living room. He was really surprised that Lupe was being so hospitable after everything that happened between him and Archie. But then again, maybe Carly was wrong. Perhaps they didn’t know about them. He smiled when Lupe returned. “Thank you,” he said, accepting the glass of tea she handed him.

She sat back down with her own drink. “So. How is Miss Addison enjoying the travel?”

He finished taking a sip of his tea before responding. “Oh. She loves it. I try to take her sight seeing as much as possible.”

“Wonderful. It’s very educational for her.”

He laughed softly. “Yeah, well I don’t know how much education a kid her age can get from stuff like that.”

“More than you might think,” she replied with a light laugh of her own. Then the front door swung open and three Archuleta children came bounding into the living room. “Mama! Who’s car is tha….” Jazzy’s question died on her lips as her eyes landed on David sitting on the sofa. Her eyes narrowed. “Oh.”

“Be quiet. The little one is sleeping,” Lupe scolded just as Jeff was joining them.

“David!” He greeted. “Surprised to see you here.”

David stood up and reached out to shake Jeff’s hand. “I know. How have you been?”

“Can’t complain. I hear you’re doing quite well.”

David didn’t miss the snicker that Jazzy let out as she rolled her eyes and walked out of the room with her siblings. “Uh…yeah, I guess.”

Jeff sat down beside of Lupe. “Don’t’ worry about Jazzy. She’s just been concerned about her brother. She’s such an impressionable child. Takes everything personally.”

David nodded, feeling very awkward all of a sudden. So much for his theory that they didn’t know about him. “Yeah. I’m…” he hesitated for a moment. “I’m really sorry about all of that.”

Lupe’s expression was soft and understanding. “You don’t have to apologize to us sweetie.”

He sighed, setting his glass on one of the coasters on the end table. “I feel like I do. I’ve apologized to Archie already, but he doesn’t want to hear it. I guess I shouldn’t blame him for that. I’m the one who messed up.”

“He loves you,” Lupe said.

David’s eyes grew wide. “For some reason I can’t believe that. After everything that I did to him, I can‘t imagine that he would still like me at all.”

“I’m worried about him,” Jeff spoke up. “I’ve seen all the tabloids and I don’t like what has become of my son. This…this Ryan fellow that he‘s been hanging around with is bad news.”

David nodded, feeling sick to his stomach as that overwhelming feeling of guilt came over him as it did every time he saw something new. “I saw those too. I was kind of hoping that they weren’t what they seemed.”

“We’ve talked to him,” Jeff explained. “He tells us that he’s eighteen now, and we need to let him live his life.”

David saw the glimmer of tears in Lupe’s eyes as she looked down to the sleeping child on the floor. “I…I…God, this is all my fault. I’m so sorry,” he said before standing up. “I…I should just go. I’m sorry.”

Lupe reached out and caught his arm before he could bend to pick up his daughter. “David?” She pleaded. He stopped and turned his head to look at her. “Do you love him?”

David felt the sting of tears behind his eyes. Of course he loved him. More than he thought he could possibly ever love someone again, with the exception of Addison. He nodded his head, biting his lip, trying to control his emotions. “I… Do. I love him very much.”

Both Archuleta parents looked at him with kind eyes. Jeff’s expression was a bit more forced, but kind none the less. Lupe stood up and wrapped her arms around him, rendering him senseless. “Then tell him. Please”

David hesitantly returned her hug. “But….he…he doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“Find a way to make him listen,” Jeff said, getting up from his seat on the sofa.

Lupe let go of David and he looked at Jeff who was standing near the desk, writing on a piece of paper. When he was finished, he walked over to David and handed the paper to him. “This is his current address, phone numbers, and e-mail.”

David looked at the piece of paper, amazed by the way Jeff & Lupe were acting towards him. “Um, I really appreciate this, but he’ll just change them again once he finds out I have them.”

Jeff smiled. “He’s not going to move out of the apartment.”

Lupe agreed. “And if I were you,” she said with a grin. “I would take the little one along with you.”

David looked down at Addison. “Really?”

“He has an enormous soft spot for her. He loves her so much.”

David felt a significant amount of pride still looking down at his sleeping daughter. “I’m pretty sure she feels the same about him.” He tore his eyes away from Addison to look at Archie’s parent. “I…You know, I don’t exactly understand all of this. I thought that this was like, against your religion.”

Lupe smiled. “Jeff and I both want our son to be happy, and we can’t look over the fact that you are what makes him happy.”

Addison chose that moment to wake up. She sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she tried to focus on her surrounding. “Daddy?”

“Right here, Princess.” David squatted down to her level. “We came to visit Archie’s Mom & Dad.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Archie!?”

David smiled. “His Mom & Dad. Remember them?” Addison looked around at them before shaking her head. He picked her up. “Say hello, then.”

The rest of their visit with Lupe & Jeff and the 3 other Archuleta children went smoothly. Jazzy still wasn’t happy that he was there, but she loved Addison. As they were leaving, Lupe kissed his cheek and told him not to give up. Jeff shook his hand again and wished him luck. He left their house feeling encouraged. As he drove away from their house with Addison tucked safely in a car seat in the back of the rental car, he began to wonder for the first time about telling his family. He wondered if they would take it as well as Archie’s family had. Somehow he knew that most of them would, because for the most part, his family just wanted him to be happy too. Then there was Vivian of course. He was a little more concerned about her. She would probably have a coronary and start reciting the bible to him. He sighed, grateful that he didn’t have to tell her any time soon.

*****

One sunny afternoon, Archie was hanging out at his apartment with Ryan, going over some song ideas. He’d had a meeting with his record label early that morning to finalize things with his tour and it had ended on a good note, so there really wasn‘t much else that he should be doing in the middle of the week. While he was playing around with a tune on his keyboard, the telephone began to ring. He stopped playing and got up to grab the cordless phone from the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room. Without looking at the caller ID, he answered. “Hello?”

“Archie!”

Archie almost dropped the phone as the little girls shrill voice squealed his name. “Addie?” he asked.

“Yes!” She giggled. “Archie, I miss you.”

Archie smiled despite the feeling that David was behind the whole thing. “I miss you, too, Addie. Where is your Daddy?”

“He’s right here.”

“Can you give him the phone, please?” He heard shuffling as the phone was passed along.

“Hello?”

“What the heck, Cook?”

“What?”

“Putting your daughter up to talking to me on the phone? How did you get my number this time?”

“She misses you, Archie. And your dad gave me your phone number. I paid them a little visit while I was in Salt Lake City. Guess what else they gave me.”

“What?”

“Your address.”

“Huh?” Archie then heard the doorbell ring. “Cook?”

“Aren’t you going to let us in, Archie?”

Archie hung up the phone and mumbled ‘crap’ under his breath. “Ryan, you have to leave,” He said as he walked towards the door. “Please?”

Ryan gave him a curious look, but started gathering up his things. “Alright.”

Archie paused and took a deep breath before opening the door. He smiled brightly seeing Addison’s smiling face as her dad held her. “Addie!”

“Archie!” She reached for him, falling into his arms as he took her from David. Who was trying to keep his composure after seeing Archie in the flesh after it had so long.

“How’s my girl?” He cooed, trying not to look at David. He wasn’t ready to be face to face with him just yet.

“Good!” She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. That’s when she noticed Ryan standing nearby. She sat up straight in his arms. “Who’s that?”

Archie had completely forgot about Ryan from the time he asked him to leave until he opened the door. “Oh! This is Ryan. Ryan, this is Addison and her…” He stopped himself as he pointed to David. “And David.”

Ryan smiled at them both, but was a little unnerved when he didn’t get one in return from the other man. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, Ryan was just leaving. Weren’t you Ry?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah! I was just…I have things to do.” He squeezed by David who was still standing in the door. “Um…Davey, I’ll see you later?”

“Sure. I‘ll uh…Um…Call you tomorrow.” He replied before turning his attention back to Addison. “So, what have you been doing?”

She giggled. “Riding on Daddy’s bus.”

Archie’s smile seemed to get brighter. “Really!? Are you having fun on tour?”

“Yeah!”

“Um,” David said from his spot in the doorway. “Can I come in?”

“Oh! Of course!” Archie gushed. “I’m…Gosh. Sorry. Yes. Come on in.” He stepped to the side and let David in before kicking the door shut. “So um….what are you doing here?”

“We were just in the neighborhood. Thought we would stop by.”

David gave him an incredulous look. “Yeah right.”

“Seriously. Addison missed you. So when I told her you lived here, she asked if we could come see you.”

Archie looked at Addison. “Addie, is that true?”

“Yeah!” She exclaimed though Archie still didn’t believe it.

“I can’t believe you think I would put her up to such antics,” David said, faking a hurt look.

Archie smiled. “Not you….never.” He put Addison down to let her look around the apartment. He knew from experience that she loved to explore new places. “So um…How’s Kim?”

David shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Huh?”

“Kim and I…we’re not together anymore.”

“Oh. I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s ok. It was for the best and I’m actually glad it’s over. It’s not like we hate each other or something. She just realized that my heart was in someone else’s hands.”

Archie stared at him blankly. “Um…”

“It’s cool, Arch. I’m honestly here because we missed you and wanted come say hello.” He watched Addison walk along the window looking out into the city. “We’re only going to stay for a minute, because I have to get back for soundcheck.”

“I’m uh…sorry about the things I said on the phone the last time we talked. I was really rude.”

David shook his head. “No. You were right. I was wasn’t doing it for Addie. And you were right about me being afraid. I’m a coward and I admit it.”

“David, I didn’t…”

“It’s ok.” David reached into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope. “I’m playing a show at the Staples Center tonight. I’d really like it if you would come.” He handed Archie the envelop in which he accepted.

Addison chose that moment to latch onto Archie’s leg. “You going to see Daddy sing?”

Archie smiled down at her. “I…”

“Please???”

Archie looked at David with an accusing glare.

“I didn’t say a word. I swear.”

He turned his attention back to Addison. “I don’t know yet. I’ll have to see what I’m doing tonight. Ok?”

David bent down and pulled Addison into his arms. “Come on, Princess. We’ve bothered Archie enough. We need to be going anyway.” He looked back to Archie who was standing there with the envelope in his hand. He had a mixture of relief and sadness in his eyes. “There are two front row tickets and backstage passes in that envelope. I really hope you can come.”

Addison reached for Archie. He smiled and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek in which she returned. “Bye, Addie.”

“Bye, Archie! See you tonight.”

He ruffled her hair. “Maybe.” He then looked at David as he began to walk away. “Cook?”

“Yeah, Arch?” David asked, looking over his shoulder as he reached for the door knob.

“Uh….nothing. Just….” he sighed. “See you around.”

“Alright. See ya, man.”

Archie closed the door behind them. He leaned against the door and looked down at the envelope in his hands. The decision to go or not to go shouldn’t be that hard.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

David finished getting dressed and then headed out to the small room where his band and guests were waiting. Andy and Addison were playing a game of memory while everyone else was just kinda lounging around. "Alright, guys. You ready?" They all nodded. David slid into the chair near Andy as everyone else filed out of the room. "Did you see him?"

Andy grinned. "See who?" David’s eyes sent him daggers, causing him to laugh. "Yeah. He’s out there. Guess who he brought with him."

David frowned. "Please tell me that it’s not Bates."

"No. He brought his bodyguard, Nelson."

"Huh…that’s interesting."

"Yeah. So Miss Addison, are you ready to go get our seats?" Addison nodded enthusiastically.

"Come here, my little princess," David scooped her up with one arm as he reached into his pocket to get a small bag containing a tiny set of earplugs. She sat on his lap, kicking her legs happily, while he put them in her ears. "Ok?" He asked once he was done. She nodded. "Ok, good." He gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "I’ll see you later tonight."

"Bye, Daddy!" She squealed as she handed back over to Andy.

He waved bye to her as he got up to leave. Andy also got up and he and Addison headed to their seats near the side of the stage.

*****

Archie was surprised to see Carly and Michael when he got to his seat. "Oh my Gosh! How are you guys!?" He asked, giving Carly a questioning look to which she just smiled and shrugged.

"Wonderful, Davey!" Carly replied, hugging him tightly. "I’m so glad you came!"

"Yeah, Mate, where you been hiding?"

"Oh…Um…I’ve been busy."

The lights then went low and they turned toward the stage. The opening act turned out to be quite good. They got the crowd hyped up very quickly. Archie smiled uneasily at Carly as the main act was introduced.

When David walked onto stage, the first place he looked was to the front row. He grinned, seeing his friends. His grin turned into a full fledged smile when Archie smiled back up at him. God he missed that face. He stepped to the microphone and began his opening number, surprised when glanced back to Archie and saw him singing along. That little fact made him extremely happy.

As the show went on, Archie’s apprehension about coming was gone. He was glad he did. He was having a great time with Michael & Carly. However, his mood changed when Cook left the stage, returning a moment later with an acoustic guitar and a stool. "How’s everyone doing tonight?" of course the crowd went mad. He laughed and hopped up onto the stool he set in front of the mic stand. "Great… Hey I want to do a little something different tonight. You guys mind if I do a cover?" Again the crowd blew up with excitement. "Awesome. Ok, here’s the thing. Before I get started on the song, I‘m going to share a little story…or a big story, maybe. I haven‘t ever told this to anyone outside my closest friends, so you should feel honored." He laughed softly as he tuned his guitar. "It may help clear up some rumors that have been floating around about the little girl who you sometimes see with me." He looked to the side of the stage where Andy and Addison were sitting. He waved. "I suggest if you need to take a bathroom break, this would be the time to do it, because this may take several minutes to tell." He smiled as the audience erupted with laughter. "So anyway, before the whole American Idol deal, I had a girlfriend. We’d been together since college and we wanted a family."

He glanced down to his friends standing in the front row, staring at him with wide eyes, unable to believe he was going to tell this on stage. "Her name was Cassie. I couldn’t imagine my life without her, so I asked her to marry me and we had a beautiful baby girl that we named Addison. Not in that particular order, of course." He paused wanting to hear the reaction from the crowd. It was surprisingly quiet in the stadium, and he could see some ladies in the front with their hands over their hearts, mouths agape. "However," he continued. "After Addie was born, something tragic happened. Cass was diagnosed with inflammatory carcinoma of the breast. For those of you who don’t know, that’s probably the worst kind of breast cancer…hard to diagnose, too. She passed away about 8 months after her diagnosis. I thought my world had ended. And it very well might have if it hadn’t been for the little angel that I had a responsibility to.

"Then months later, we all know what happened. The whirlwind that is American Idol. During that time, I met someone amazing." David looked out into the crowd, not focusing on anyone in particular at first, but for a split-second in the end, his eyes landed on Archie who shifted uncomfortably. "This person really helped me get through it all. They were there for me when ever I needed to talk. Needed to cry. Even when I’d spent a little too long hanging out in the hotel bar, which I’m ashamed to admit happened more than once. That right there says a lot about this person, because they sure as hell didn’t have to do that."

He sighed. "I was grateful for the friendship. It really meant a lot to me. However, sometimes things don’t always work out the way you expect them too. I guess it’s, as Cassie would say, all a part of God’s master plan…I guess only he knows why things work out the way they do. The point I’m getting at is somewhere along the way, I fell in love again. I didn’t think it was possible." He shrugged. "Scared the hell out of me, really. And because it scared me, I did and said some things that I’m not proud of. I hurt not only one, but two people who mean the world to me. Now, I want to make things right. I fixed one problem a couple of weeks ago. I’m hoping I’ll be able to fix the other tonight."

He sat up a little straighter and positioned his guitar. "That’s where this song comes in. You see, that person that I am talking about is here tonight, and I want to dedicate this song to them. I hope that they’ll forgive me and perhaps give me another chance... even though I really don’t deserve on."

Carly slipped her arms around Michael and Archie, bringing them both closer to her in a hug so that it would be obvious as to who David was talking about, but she squeezed Archie a little tighter. She smiled through the tears streaming down her face. This wasn’t what any of them expected when they got invited to the show.

The introduction for the song was immediately recognized as David played the first few notes on the acoustic. He smiled discreetly down at Archie before he began to sing. _"The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful, stop me and steal my breath. Emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky, never revealing their depth. Tell me that we belong together, dress it up with the trappings of love. I’ll be captivated, I’ll hang from your lips instead the gallows of heartache that hang from above....I’ll be your crying shoulder. I’ll be love suicide. I’ll be better when I’m older. I’ll be the greatest fan of your life."_

He glanced down at Archie once again before his eyes swept over the crowd. There weren’t very many dry eyes in the house at that time. He felt himself getting a little choked up, but he pushed it away and continued with the song.

_"And rain falls angry on the tin roof as we lie awake in my bed."_ He sang the next lines a little louder and with a little more emotion as they were the lines in the song that said it all so well. **_"And you’re my survival. You’re my living proof. My love is alive, not dead."_**

 

 

 

Archie bit his lip and looked up at Carly with tearful eyes. She smiled and began to sway to the music with him, holding him close while his gaze went back to David and stayed there.

" _And tell me that we belong together, dress it up with the trappings of love. I’ll be captivated, I’ll hang from your lips instead the gallows of heartache that hang from above....I’ll be your crying shoulder. I’ll be love suicide. I’ll be better when I’m older. I’ll be the greatest fan of your life.... I’ve been dropped out, burned up, fought my way back from the dead. Tuned in, turned on, remembered the things that you said.... I’ll be You’re crying shoulder. I’ll be love suicide. I’ll be better when I’m older. I’ll be the greatest fan of your....I’ll be your crying shoulder. I’ll be love suicide. I’ll be better when I’m older. I’ll be the greatest fan of you life. The greatest fan of you life....._ "

Their eyes met briefly as the last line was song was sung and the lights went down. David smiled to himself, knowing that what he saw for just a moment in those hazel eyes mirrored his own. He moved the stool and changed guitars again before the show continued as planned. As he finished his last song, he thanked his fans for letting him tell his story and for not leaving. He then left the stage and headed back to his dressing room.

*****

He was standing front of the mirror using a make-up remover to remove his eyeliner when he caught a glimpse of Archie’s reflection. He turned around quickly to see Archie closing the door. When Archie turned back around, their eyes met and David stumbled for words. "I...I was afraid you wouldn’t come."

Archie nodded. "I almost didn’t." He looked around the dressing room. "I, uh. I can’t believe you did that."

David shrugged and moved closer to him. "Yeah, well I had to stop being a coward sometime."

Archie smiled and nodded in agreement. "Cook?"

"Yeah, Archie?"

"The past few months have been rough on me. I’ve done some things that I’m not proud of either. I just want you to know that none of those people meant anything to me. I was just..." He stopped speaking when David put a finger against his lips.

"Archie," David shook his head to let him know it was his time to speak. "I don’t care. All I care about is what happens right now."

Archie stared up at him with wide eyes, wondering what exactly was going to happen ‘right now.’ He didn’t have to wait long, because David began to speak.

"I love you, Archie. I mean that with my entire being. I was miserable without you." He explained. "I didn’t even think it was possible for me to love someone again the way that I love you. I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for being such an ass, and that your feelings for me haven’t changed."

Archie smiled. "Done."

David swallowed the newly formed lump in his throat. "What?"

"Consider it done. I’ve forgiven you, and I don’t think there was ever a chance at changing how I feel about you." He paused, reaching out to take David’s hand. "I love you too, Cookie."

David let go of the breath that he was holding and took in another shaky one. "Oh, thank God...." he mumbled as tears sprang to his eyes. He pulled Archie to him, hugging him tightly. "I’m never going to let you go again. No matter what."

Archie smiled, wrapping his arms around David as his head rested against his shoulder. "Good."

Finally, David pulled away and they stared into each other’s eyes. David reached up and brushed his knuckles over the soft skin of Archie’s cheek. "You’re so beautiful, Archie." The compliment made him blush and a small giggle escaped his lips. The corner of David’s mouth curled up, creating a smirk as he gently cupped Archie’s face in his hands, tilting his chin upwards.

Archie sucked in a deep breath, feeling nervous about what was about to happen. He didn’t know why he felt nervous. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been kissed before. Heck, it wasn’t even his first kiss with David. What did he have to be nervous about? He licked his lips and closed his eyes, anticipating the feel of David’s mouth on his.

David ran his tongue over his own lips before tilting his head to the side, and pressing his them against Archie’s lush, full ones. He heard Archie whimper as their lips collided. He felt his hands move to rest on his sides as their kiss began to deeped. David’s hands moved to the back of Archie’s head, threading through his short hair.

Archie gasped when he felt the silkiness of David’s tongue slide over his bottom lip, asking for permission to enter. His lips parted at the same time he ran his hands up over David’s back, feeling the hardness of muscle beneath the tight black shirt that he wore.

David’s eager tongue slipped into Archie’s mouth, tasting him slowly. Savoring the sweet taste that he knew he would never be able to get enough of. He moaned softly, closing his eyes as once again as Archie’s lips closed around his tongue, sucking gently. He felt his heart rate increase and was suddenly having bad thoughts about how that would feel elsewhere on his body. Then Archie opened his mouth again to let their tongues tangle with one another.

Curling his fingers in Archie’s dark locks, David tugged slightly, breaking away from the kiss for air. The younger man gasped as the older one began trailing small kisses over his jaw. "Cook," he whimpered, with his eyes still closed, pulling him closer, his fingers digging into the material of David’ shirt.

David moved his arms to wrap around Archie’s waist, helping him press their bodies closer. He leaned down and began to suck and nibble at the exposed flesh of Archie’s neck. Soon his mouth was against Archie’s ear. "I love you, Arch," he whispered huskily. "I love you so fucking much it hurts." He felt the threat of tears as the weight of the moment came crashing down onto him. He clung to the younger man, sobbing helplessly with his face buried in the crook of Archie’s neck.

Archie, shocked by the sudden outburst, held onto him, rubbing his hand soothingly up and down his back. "Shhh," he whispered. "It’s ok. I love you, too."

When David had calmed down and finally pulled away from him, Archie smiled up at him before reaching up to wipe away the smudges of black from his cheeks. "Try the waterproof the next time," he cracked, causing David to laugh.

Before either of them could speak again, there was a knock on the door and then Andy stuck his head inside. "I’m sorry for interrupting, but I have a little girl out here demanding to see you both. I’m afraid if I make her wait any longer she might get violent." David & Archie laughed and David told Andy to bring her in. "Ok. Be back in a sec."

David turned to Archie. "I think someone else is going to be thrilled about this."

Archie smiled. "I hope so."

"Daddy! Archie!" Addison came bouncing into the room. "Ice Cream!"

David laughed. "You want Ice cream?"

"Yep!" She went over to Archie and tugged on his shirt until he bent down and picked her up.

"Hey, Squirt."

Her mouth dropped open and she glared at Archie. "I’m not a Squirt! I’m a Princess!’

David laughed, loving the picture before him. It was perfect. There was no one in the world he wanted more than the _eighteen_ -year-old boy standing in front of him. And he was going to make damn sure that he didn’t lose him again.   
  



	19. Chapter Nineteen

David’s tour ended and Archie’s was getting ready to start. They had one whole week to spend sorting things out. Archie was grateful that David never brought up the tabloids, although he knew that the older man was aware of them. He knew because of the way that David would look at Ryan every time he saw him. Or how his mouth would form a tight line at the mention of his name. Archie was also glad that David trusted him enough not to question his friendship with Ryan. He figured it didn’t matter anyway, Ryan wasn’t one of those people he was worried about keeping in his life forever. He was more like a friend of convenience.

On the day that Archie was to depart from LA to start his tour, David was packing up too. He and Addison were flying to Missouri early the next morning to see his family. He wanted to break the news to them before they caught wind of it else where. He wasn’t planning on coming out anytime soon, but living in LA, you just never knew what might happen.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Archie asked from his seat on David’s bed where Addison was sleeping while David folded clothes and placed them neatly into his suitcase.

“I’m sure. I need to do this, Arch.”

Archie understood. He just didn’t want David to go through the criticism that he knew there could possibly be.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, Cook. What?”

“How…” David stopped packing for a moment and sat down on the bed with him. “How did you tell your parents? How did they react?”

Archie sighed. “It wasn’t easy,” he was being completely honest. Telling his parents that he was in love with another man was the scariest thing he’d ever done. “Considering I was raised with such strong beliefs that homosexuality was a sin, I was scared to death. I mean I knew that the outcome wouldn’t be good, because my parents walk the line, ya know? I expected them to disown me. Tell me that I was a disgrace to the family and to God. I didn’t know how I would deal with that.”

“But they didn’t tell you all that did they?”

Archie shook his head. “No. My mom cried. My dad didn’t say too much. I think it was harder on him. He…I dunno. I think it’s just a dad thing. He did tell me later that he’d suspected it a few times, but had always hoped he was wrong.”

“Oh?” David asked. That sounded kind of hurtful.

“Yeah.” Archie saw the look on David’s face. “No! He didn’t mean that to be mean. It’s just…Ya know, with the church and everything. He didn’t want me to have to face that.”

“Um, Archie…what exactly does your church say about that?”

“They mostly believe that as long as you don’t act on your feelings, like practicing homosexual behaviors, you’ll be ok, in the eyes of God.”

“Oh. And if you do?”

“I prefer to not talk about it.”

David nodded. “Fair enough.” He knew they would have that discussion later.

“The bottom line is, my family just wants whatever makes me happy.” Archie was still a bit terrified of the whole situation. He just didn’t want to admit that to David. Not yet. He had tried coming to terms with his sexuality as far as God and the Church were concerned. He’d even talked with some people who were members of the Affirmation chapter in LA. That had helped a lot. However, once he fell into that Hollywood scene, he found himself drifting away from even that. He was ashamed of some of his careless actions, but at the time, he just wanted to forget his pain. He knew that everyone he’d ever known back home in Murray were probably as ashamed. He knew that he probably wouldn’t be welcome back in the church and surprisingly he was ok with that. As long as he had the person he loved most with him every step of the way.

David remained silent for a moment. He was pretty sure his family would feel the same, but it still didn’t help the fact that he was nervous. “What did you say?”

“Well,” he began with a shrug. “Something along the lines of ‘Mom, Dad. This is going to shock you and I’m so sorry, but I think I might be gay.’ And then I just went on to explain my feelings for you, and how I could never see myself feeling that way about a girl.” Archie shrugged again. “I’m sure that’s not exactly how I said it, but that’s the gist of it.”

David nodded. “You really told them about me?”

“Yeah. I had to. I mean they had to know this wasn’t some random guy that I’d developed a crush on overnight.”

“Ahh. That would explain the looks that your dad sometimes gave me.”

Archie laughed. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

“When exactly did you tell them?”

Archie lowered his eyes, avoiding contact with David’s. “Um…the day that we…the day that you told me about Cassie’s last letter. When you told me you weren’t gay.”

David was surprised. “Oh.” For some reason that shocked him.

The truth was, Archie was hurt by the way David had talked to him, he was sobbing by the time he made it back to his room. He had to tell them, because his father demanded answers. Thankfully, it was on one of those rare occasions that his mom was there also. “They wanted to know what was wrong, and I couldn’t lie.”

“Did they hate me?”

Archie smiled. “First of all, you must know by now that my family does not hate.”

“Well, except for your sister,” David exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood.

“Jazzy doesn’t hate you,” Archie assured him. “But anyway, I think they were relieved that it was you.”

“Huh?”

“Oh come on, Cook. My family loves you.”

“They do?”

“Yes!”

“Even after I corrupted you and treated you like crap?”

“You didn’t corrupt me. If anything I corrupted you. I believe that you used to like girls. I never did…so that kinda makes me the guilty party.” He smiled at the look of realization on David’s face. “Besides, Dad told you how to contact me, didn’t he?”

“Well….yeah.”

Archie smiled again before becoming serious once more. “So what do you think your family will say?”

“I think they’ll be shocked. I mean…I’ve never….this is so new to me. I was pretty sure I had the whole straight thing going for me. I’m guessing they did too, ya know?”

“Hmm, not really. I was never interested in girls,” Archie chuckled. “I never once thought about whether I was gay or straight. I just thought it was because I didn’t have time to notice them.”

“Heh. Arch, you always have time to notice girls.”

Archie shrugged. “I only noticed you.”

David gave him a lopsided grin, and slipped his arm around him. “I love you, Archuleta.”

“And I love you, Cook,” he replied, leaning his forehead against David’s.

“Hey, Arch?”

“Yeah?”

“When did you figure out how you felt about me?”

Archie sighed, looking down. “Oh…Somewhere between the monopoly games and holding you when you were upset.”

David smiled. “Have I ever told you how much I appreciated you for doing that?”

“Hmmm, I think you mentioned it a time or two,” Archie’s tongue darted out to wet his lips. “Cook?”

“Yeah?”

“When did you know?”

“When you kissed me. Hell, I probably knew before, but I was so caught up in myself that I didn’t notice that I lived for the moments we spent together. But, when you kissed me…you broke me.”

“I broke you?”

“Yeah, ya did.”

Archie took the initiative and closed the gap between them, pressing his mouth against David’s. His full lips caressed David’s gently, causing the older man to moan softly. David’s hand found it’s way to the back of Archie’s head while his other moved to cup his chin, lovingly as their lips worked each others slowly.

“Kisses! My Turn!” Addison squealed, letting them know that she was now awake.

David broke the kiss grinning as his eyes closed for a second before he moved his head from against Archie’s and let his arm fall from around him. “Addie...when did you wake up?”

She smiled innocently and shrugged her tiny shoulders. She got up and crawled over to her Dad. She kissed him and then moved to Archie to kiss him. She settled down into Archie’s lap and sighed contentedly. David got back up and started packing again.

“You excited about your plane ride?” Archie asked.

She shook her head. “You go with us?”

He shook his head. “No. I can’t. It’s going to be just you and Daddy.”

David watched the two conversing while he finished packing. He smiled at the huge grin that Addison had when ever Archie suggested watching the “Fairly Odd Parents.” He had to laugh as they left the room talking about Cosmo and Wanda.

*****

Later that evening, Archie had said goodbye to both of them and headed off to the airport. Their flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until 6 a.m. the next morning. Addison was a little miffed about Archie not going with them, but David reassured her that they would call him later so that she could talk to him.

When David and Addison arrived at the airport in Missouri the following day, Andrew was there to pick them up. On the ride to his mom’s house, Andrew called him on the silence. “What gives, Dave? You’re unusually quiet.”

David shrugged and continued looking out the window. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

Andrew could tell by the way his brother avoided eye contact, that he wasn’t ready to talk about what ever was bothering him.

“How’d the last show go?” He asked referring to the concert in LA.

“It was great. I had Carly, Michael, and Archie there.”

“Really? That’s awesome!”

“Oh, that reminds me. Michael and Stacey are spitting.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Shocking. I know.”

“Drew?” Addison chimed from the backseat.

“Huh?”

“I’m hungry.”

David turned in his seat and looked at her. “How could you be hungry? You had a ton of snacks on the plane.”

Andrew glanced in the rearview mirror seeing a frown on the little girl’s face. “Mickey D’s, Addie?”

Her eyes lit up as she nodded her head vigorously.

David rolled his eyes and shook his head at his brother. “You are such a weakling.”

“Lets get drive thru and go to the park,” Andrew suggested.

Twenty minutes later they were sitting at a picnic table in a desolate park near their home, enjoying their happy meals. “I can’t believe we got happy meals,” David laughed as he took his hot wheels out of the plastic bag.

“Happy meals are awesome.”

David was about to agree when his cell phone rang. He smiled seeing the number. “Hey! How was your flight?”

“Fine. Sorry I didn’t get your call last night. I was so tired, I just kind of crashed as soon as I got to the hotel. How was your flight?”

“Good. It’s ok. I figured as much. I’m glad you called now though.”

“Yeah. I just, you know…wanted to make sure you got there ok.”

Andrew didn’t miss the smile that lit up his brothers face and he wondered who was on the other line, causing it. He grinned and began making funny faces with Addison as they ate, trying to ignore the one ended conversation taking place right beside of him.

“Yeah. She’s right her. I’ll let you talk to her.”

“Thanks. Love you.”

David smiled and glanced over at his brother before replying. “You too.” He pulled the phone from his ear. “Addie, you have a phone call.” He handed the phone to her and laughing as her eyes lit up and she squealed the younger man’s name.

Andrew nearly choked on his cheeseburger. David gave him a concerned look and slapped him on the back. “You ok?” Andrew nodded, reaching for his drink.

Once Addison was done talking, she handed the phone back to her dad. David wiped the greasy finger prints away with a napkin before opening it back up to send Archie a text. *I <3 U 2* He hit send and hoped that he understood why he didn’t say it back over the phone. He put the phone back in his pocket.

“Um, Dave?” Andrew inquired. “Is um…Is there something that you want to tell me?”

“Huh?”

“Dude, you are glowing.”

“I’m what?” David felt his heart rate increase. He wasn’t ready to have this conversation.

“You are glowing. Seriously, dude. I know that was Archie on the phone, so don’t even try to act dumb. What’s going on?”

David groaned. “I wasn’t quite ready to tell you just yet. I was hoping to at least tell Mom first.” He sighed. “It’s actually the reason I’m here,” David explained pushing what remained of his food to the side, his appetite having left him.

“To tell us that you’re seeing him?”

“Yeah.” He put his head in his hands, resting his elbows on the table.

Andrew chuckled softly. “You’re looking a bit more pale than usual. Going to be ok?”

“You’re taking this surprisingly well.”

“Why wouldn’t I? I don’t care who you date as long as you’re happy. Hell I used to suspect you and Andy before you met Cassie.”

“What!?” David asked in complete astonishment.

Andrew only grinned and finished off his cheeseburger. “Well, you do have a feminine way about you,” he teased, laughing at the horrified expression David had on his face.

“I do not!”

Andrew balled up the cheeseburger wrapper and tossed it into a nearby trashcan. “Are you happy?”

He looked at his brother in disbelief for a moment before coming back to his senses. “Yeah. It’s been complicated, but Archie and I are working on it.” He shook his head and dropped his arms to the table, still not able to believe how calm Andrew was being. “Aren’t you even a little bit surprised?”

“Yeah. Of course I am. Shocked even. I nearly choked to death, how much more surprised to you want me to be?”

David snorted. “I guess I was just…I don’t know expecting a different reaction.”

“You thought I was going to be disgusted and hate you?” He sighed when David reluctantly nodded his head, looking at Addison who was happily playing with her new Polly Pocket toy and chewing on a chicken nugget. “Look, bro. After everything you’ve been through, you deserve all the happiness you can get and if this Archie kid is what makes you smile like you were when you were on the phone with him, then that’s perfectly fine with me.”

David felt a bit of relief wash over him. “Thanks, man. I guess that’s one down, five more to go?” He groaned. “I was…am really nervous about this. How do I tell Mom?”

“Mom will be fine.”

“You think so?”

“Yep.”

“Daddy, can we swing?”

“Are you done eating?”

“Yeah!” She held up her empty nugget box.

“See?”

“Alright. Come on.”

David picked her up and carried her to the swings. He started to put her in the kiddie swing, but she shook her head and held on to him. “No. With you.”

“Oh.” David held onto her with one arm while he grabbed a swing and sat down on it. Once he got situated enough that he could swing and hold on to her at the same time. He began to let the swing glide slowly. Addison grinned up at him, her big eyes sparkling. David smiled down at her. “Hold on.”

A few minutes later, Andrew joined them after having cleaned up the trash from the picnic table. He sat down on the swing beside of them. “So….when did this happen?”

“Officially? Last week. But we’d um been…well I had been fighting my feelings for quite a while.” He sighed. “I don’t know how it happened though. He just…he’s…’ David wondered when he’d lost his ability to talk properly. “God…I don’t know.”

“It’s cool. I don’t need details.” Andrew looked down at Addison who was holding onto the chains and looking around the park contentedly. “What does she think?”

“She loves him. As for the rest, she’s not old enough to understand it all yet, so I guess I will explain it to her when the time is right.”

*****

David, Addison, and Andrew entered the house about 2 hours later. “Mom?” David called.

“Grandma!?” Addison yelled, wanting to be helpful. David let her down and she took off running through the house, but soon came back screaming. “Help, Daddy! Penny!!!!”

David laughed and scooped her up before the dog could get to her. “Penny, no!” David scolded. The dog obediently se down, so David squatted to pet it.

“Grandma!” Addison squealed as Beth walked into the room.

“Addie!”

David let go of her and she ran to her Grandma. “Hey, Mom.” He walked over to her after she picked Addison up to hug her. He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey,” she hugged them both. “I have missed you so much,” she cried. “I am so glad you’re finally here.”

David sighed, wrapping his arms around both his mom and Addison. “Missed you too, Mom.”  
“Come,” Beth said. “I’m making your favorite. It’s almost done.”

David and Andrew looked at each other before following her to the kitchen. “Mom, we stopped at McDonalds on the way home because Addie was hungry,” Andrew explained.

“That’s ok. This is just dessert.”

 

*****

Later, after they’d finished eating, Andrew took Addison out of the kitchen to play, leaving David alone with their mom. “So how have you been, Mom?” he asked as he washed the few dishes that they had dirtied.

“Wonderful, though the fan girls hanging our near the mailbox gets a little annoying at times,” she replied causing David to laugh. “There’s even been some fan boys too.”

David laughed nervously. “Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that I don’t have to deal with them.”

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

“Nonsense, baby. It will die down soon enough and then I’ll miss it.” She said pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“Oh. Ok,” he laughed as he put the last plate into the cupboard. Then he joined his mom at the table with his own cup of coffee. “I need to tell you something, Mom.”

Beth looked at him, concern written all over her face. “Something wrong?”

He shook his head and stirred his coffee with a spoon. “No. Nothing’s wrong. I just have something to tell you.”

“I’m all ears, honey.”

“I’m seeing someone.”

Beth smiled. “Honey, that’s great.” She’d known about his break up with Kim, of course, and she hadn’t expected him to have someone so soon, but she was happy none the less. The one thing she wanted for her son was for him to find someone who made him as happy as Cassie had. “Who is she?”

He took a deep breath, not really sure how to explain. He wasn’t anticipating questions yet. “Um, it’s actually someone I’ve known for a while. The thing is….and please don’t freak out, ok?”

Beth’s finger rubbed over the handle of her mug. She was beginning to feel a bit concerned. Her son was acting a little out of character. She reached across the table and put her hand over his. “Why would I freak out?”

David sighed and focused on their hands. “Because it’s not a woman,” he said softly.

Beth sat there, stunned. She was almost certain that she’d heard wrong. “Wh-what did you say?”

His teary eyes finally met hers. “Mom,” he pleaded.

“David,” She laced her fingers with his. “I don’t understand.”

“I…” David began. “I’m not sure I do either. I just know that I love him.”

Beth closed her eyes and let out a long, slow breath. “How did this happen? I mean, haven’t you always,”

“Liked girls? Yeah. Believe me, Mom. This came as quite a shock to me too. I tried to deny it. Tried to tell myself that I was still mourning Cassie and that it was just fucked up emotions…”

“Watch your mouth.”

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I don’t know what else to say. I can’t explain it to myself.”

Beth knew in her heart that David was torn, and she wasn’t going to make things harder on him. Not after the life he’d lived. She just had a few questions. The rest she would figure out with time. “What about Addie?”

He smiled. “Addie is infatuated with him, and he loves her so much.”

“David, how long has this been going on? Was this the reason you and Kim…”

“No. Kim…I just…well, I guess maybe it was the reason we broke up, but it was never going to work with us. I didn’t love her the right way, and she wasn’t right for Addie. Her finding out about my feelings for him just drove the nail in the coffin.” He sighed. “Mom, when Kim and I first started dating, I still wasn’t over Cass. Hell, I’m still not completely over her…” he saw the chastising look on his mother’s face. “Sorry. Anyway, I thought that if I dated her for a while, those feelings would go away and I could love her, but then I got blindsided and realized that I was in love with Archie and I couldn’t shake it no matter how hard I tried.” When he finally looked back up at his mom, her mouth was hanging open in shock, staring at him. “Mom?”

“Archie?” She asked. “As in David Archuleta?”

David swallowed thickly, nodding his head affirmatively.

“Oh, my God. David. He’s…so young.”

David rolled his eyes. “I know. He’s 18, and he’s what I want. I don’t care about his age. It’s not like I’m that much older than him. If it were a girl would it be that big of a deal?”

“I’m just…I’m shocked. Overwhelmed. Honey, you have to know that this was the last thing I expected to hear from you.”’

“I know. I’m sorry. I just….wanted to tell you face to face. I hope you don’t hate me. I couldn’t stand it if you did.”

She got up and moved around the table. “Oh, honey. I love you so much. Always. I don’t care if you love men or women, you’re still my baby.”

David felt his resolve give way and he hugged his mother, needing the comfort of her arms.

*****

Later that night, David had put Addison to bed after a very long day. He had decided that telling his mom and Andrew was enough for one day. He was going to tell the rest of his family over the next few days. He only hoped they would be as supportive. He made his way back to his old bedroom and laid down on the bed with his cell phone. He hit number one and then send.

“Hey….how’d it go?” Archie asked as he picked up after the first ring.

David closed his eyes, loving the gentle sound of David’s voice. “It went well, so far. I told Mom and Andrew. They’ve been great.”

Archie sighed with relief. “Oh, that’s great, Cook. I’m so happy.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Arch. Hey about earlier. The text message. I just wanted to make sure you know why I didn’t say it over the phone…”

“It’s ok. I know. You needed to tell them first.”

“Yeah.”

They continued to talk for a while until David felt his eyes getting heavy. “Babe, I think I’m going to have to call it a night. I can barely hold my eyes open.”

“You’ve had a long day,” Archie responded. “Get some rest. I’ll call you tomorrow. Ok?”

“Yeah. Ok. I’ll talk to you later, Archie. I love you.”

“I love you too. Talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight.”

“G’night.” David hung up his cell and turned over in his bed. He gasped coming face to face with a picture of Cassie on his nightstand. A smiled formed on his face. “I think I found the one you were talking about,” he whispered as his eyes drifted shut.


	20. Chapter Twenty

Much to David’s relief, most of his family took his news rather well. Adam and his family had been pretty much on the same page that Andrew had been on. They just wanted him to be happy. His dad, on the other hand, had not taken it as well as he would have liked, but he could not expect it all to go well.

After two days in Blue Springs, he made the trip to Indiana where his father lived, with Andrew & Addison. He spent the following two days bickering and arguing with his dad, defending Archie and their love. In the end, his father had not disowned him or anything. He just made it clear that he probably wasn’t going to be joining PFLAG any time soon. David was hurt and wished his dad could be a little more understanding. Perhaps someday he would be.

He returned to Blue Springs with a heavy heart. His mother was waiting for him when he arrived. She had pretty much eased most of his pain with her love and support. He should have known that if anyone was going to support him one hundred percent, it was his mother. She was an amazing woman.

Now, he and Addison were on their way to Tulsa where Vivian lived. He had called ahead to let her know that they were coming. Addison sat in the backseat, strapped safely in her car seat, playing with her favorite doll. David glanced back in the rental car's rearview mirror as she started singing 'Hush Little Baby' to 'Archie.' He had a feeling that he should have left her with his Mom for this trip, but he did not want to deprive her of the chance to see her Grandma, nor did he want to deprive Vivian.

He sighed, wondering how he was going to broach the subject. He wanted to get it out as soon as possible so that they had time to talk or fight; whichever Vivian preferred. He had a dreadful feeling that it would be the latter. Despite the fact that he had become quite close the woman in the year following Cassie's death, he knew that she would not take lightly to his new preference. She was an firm believer in the Bible and it's gospel. It was going to be hard to convince her otherwise. He was, at that point thankful that Cassie's father had passed away years before. He knew that he would be far worse than Vivian could possibly be.

*****

Vivian opened her door with a bright smile on her face. "David," she greeted. "I am so happy you decided to visit." She noticed Addison was sleeping against his shoulder. "Oh. The little dear. She must be

exhausted."

David nodded as he stepped inside the house. "She's had a long couple of days." He let the older woman take her from him. "How are you, Viv?"

She smiled. "I'm doing well," she replied as she walked toward the extra bedroom that she had long since turned into a nursery for her only grandchild. David followed her and watched as she carefully

tucked Addison into bed, placing a soft kiss on her head. He smiled, leaving against the door facing. "I have missed her so much," Vivian said moving to stand beside of him to watch her sleep for a moment.

"How have you been, David?"

He shrugged. "I've been doing well. Um, I don't know if you heard, but Kim and I..."

Vivian nodded. "I did hear something. I'm sorry that it didn't work out for you."

He frowned. "I'm...I don’t know, glad that it didn't."

"Come," Vivian too him by the arm and pulled him toward the kitchen. "Would you like a drink?"

"Um, sure. What ever you have is fine." His eyes grew wide as she pulled out a bottle of Raspberry Ale. He squinted at the label. Belgium Ale. "Um, Viv?"

She didn't raise her eyes to meet his. Instead, she set two wine glasses on the table and poured them each a full glass before sitting down. "This stuff is the best."

David sat down opposite her and picked up the glass carefully. "Yes. Quite expensive too," he said eying her closely. "Vivian, since when did you drink? Last time I heard no alcohol of any kind was allowed in your house." The woman had spent a lot of time degrading his job as a bar tender due to the fact that it promoted the sinful act of drunkenness.

“The Bible says, you shall not be drunk. Says nothing about indulging in a bit of spirits now and again.” She shrugged, bringing her glass to her lips.

David's eyes stayed on her, questioning her as she savored the taste before finally letting her eyes meet his. He saw something there that he had never expected to see in the older woman's eyes. "Are you ok?"

She shook her head. "I'm not, David," she replied. "To be honest, I feel like I have nothing to live for anymore." She explained. "I've lost everything. My husband. My only child. My faith. It's all gone."

He blinked, shocked to be hearing such things from her. She had always been such an avid Christian who never doubted her faith. This was almost too much to take in. "Viv..." he wasn't sure what he should say. Obviously, she had been going through a rough time and no one had taken the time to notice. After Idol, he had hardly talked to her on the phone much less visited her. He scolded himself for such inconsideration. "I'm not sure what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, David," She looked down at the glass in her hand with sad eyes. "This was much harder than I expected it to be." She then decided to change the subject. "So, what about you? How have you been, really?"

David finally brought the glass he was holding to his lips, taking a gulp of ale, giving himself enough time to collect his thoughts. "Well," he began. "It's been a rough couple of years, as you know. I'm

not going to lie. I've questioned everything in my life since Cassie died. And I do mean everything. I still think of her every single day. Sometimes it's hard to put the past behind me when Addie is a constant

reminder."

"She's a lot like her mother," Vivian agreed.

"Yeah, and when you get her and Archie together it's like a double whammy."

Vivian smiled. "You still associate with him?"

David nodded nervously. "I do."

"That's nice." The smile remained on her face as she spoke. "I'm sure Addison is thrilled. She talked about him constantly while you were on the show. Good kid."

David smiled, wondering how long it would take Vivian's opinion to change once he told her the truth. "She loves him."

"David, I know you just didn't decide to visit out of the blue for no reason, so what's going on?"

He frowned. "What makes you think that?" The pointed look that she gave him assured him that it had been a stupid question to ask. "I've..." he knew he had to tell her. It was pretty much now or never. "I've fallen in love with someone."

"And obviously that someone wasn't Kimberly?"

"No. In fact it's probably the last person you would expect."

Vivian gave him a smirk. "Oh I wouldn't underestimate my ability to see all," she cracked, surprising him slightly.

He looked down, staring intently at the glass in his hand, his fingers trembled slightly. "No. Actually I don't think there is anyway you could even begin to get this one."

"Can I try?"

David shrugged his shoulders and sat back against the chair he was sitting in. If it meant buying him some more time, of course she could try. She could keep guessing all night if she wanted. "Sure. Knock yourself out."

Vivian took another drink before leaning in. "Contrary to what you may have thought, I know how much you loved Cassie. I know how she made your life brighter. I know how a part of you died with her. Throughout the entire season of Idol, I watched you interact with everyone there. I met all of your competitors and everyone that meant anything to you when I came to visit and for the finale. The very moment I laid eyes on you, I knew. That light was back in your eyes, and it wasn't Kimberly Caldwell who put it there."

David raised an eyebrow wondering what she was getting at. His heart was starting to thud against his chest. "That could have been just the excitement of being a finalist."

"Do you really think I'm that naive, David? You know me."

"I just don't think you're going to be correct with your guess is all." David avoided her eyes.

"Are you ready for my answer?"

"Sure." David was certain that whatever name slipped across her lips would be the name of a female, so he indulged her.

Vivian smirked. "The person who makes you as happy as my daughter did is none other than one, David Archuleta."

David's eyes grew wide, and he was sure his heart stopped momentarily. He stared at the woman sitting across from him, mouth agape. "W-what?" He asked. His first instinct was to deny it, but then

that was crazy. Wasn't that what he was there to tell her in the first place?

"Am I wrong?" She asked, her voice showing nothing other than sincere kindness.

"How....what...." he finally stopped taking a deep breath. There was no need to ask those questions, so he conceded. "No. You're not wrong." He glanced up at her to find a smile of satisfaction on her face as she took another drink. "What the heck, Viv? Why are you not throwing Bible quotes at me? Surely, you can't be ok with this! For years you preached to me and Cass about living together before we were married and then about how having a baby out of wedlock was wrong....I....I don't get it! How can you be ok with the fact that I‘m in love with another guy?"

Vivian lowered her eyes to the near empty glass in her hand. She reached for the bottle and poured the remaining ale into her glass. "Is that what you want me to do? You want me to tell you that it's wrong and that you're going to hell because you love another man? You want me to tell you how disgusting it is? How incredibly far you are from God?"

He felt his throat closing up as he struggled to choke back all the emotions that were coursing through his veins. "That's what you would have done not too long ago."

She nodded. "You're right. I would have. But as I told you earlier, I'm not the same woman I was then."

"Are you telling me that you don't believe in...?”

"Oh, I believe. I believe,” she replied, although David felt that the repetition was her way of trying to convince herself more than he. “I just...it's a complicated relationship between us right now. I don't understand why he takes everyone I love away from me. I'm tired of being so good only to lose everything. If they don't die, they move away. I'm just alone and I don't know what I did to deserve this."

David stared at her for a long moment, before he was able to speak. How could he have not noticed the emptiness in her eyes before. "You still have me and Addison. Anytime that you need anything, Viv."

She shook her head. "It's not the same. I can't drive across town to see you anymore. I can't always reach you on the phone. I just..." a sob escaped her and David was immediately behind her, leaning down to

wrap his arms around her.

"Shhh," he soothed. "It's ok. Please don't cry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I didn't consider your feelings."

She shook her head and placed a hand on his arms. "It’s not your fault.” She said.

“It’s not yours either, Vivian.” He moved from behind her and grabbed her hand as he knelt beside of her chair. “You know what I’ve been telling myself through out the last 3 years?” She looked tearfully down at him, shaking her head. “It was something that Cass always told me. She said you used to tell her that everything happens for a reason. That there is a plan….and….”

“That we should not question that plan,” she finished.

He nodded. “I believe that. Now more than ever. The last thing I ever expected was to fall in love with someone like Archie. I tried hard to deny it. I really did. I didn’t want to be in love with another man, but I can’t stop feeling the way I feel, so if that has to be a part of the plan, doesn’t it?”

Taking a deep cleansing breath Vivian nodded. “I suppose so.”

“You’re not alone either. You have us. Always.”

“You’re such a sweet boy,” she said fondly.

David laughed softly. “Now why couldn’t you have seen that long ago?”

She rolled her eyes at him, smiling slowly. “Because I’m a dumb old woman?”

He smiled. “You’re not dumb.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Young man….”

He got up and hugged her. “I love you.”

She hugged him back. “I love you, too.” As he pulled away, she looked up at him and smiled. “And David….I’ll support you no matter what.”

He felt tears of joy stinging his eyes. “Viv, you have no idea what that means to me. I mean, this is not how I expected this to go.”

“I’ve had time to think about it. I believe in what you said too. Everything happens for a reason and only God knows why.”

*****

The remainder of their day went wonderfully. Vivian made them dinner and they sat out on the back porch reminiscing and pointing out constellations to Addison, telling her story after story about her mom and many other things.

Addison finally dozed back off to sleep around 10:30 pm. David allowed her to sleep in his arms until almost midnight. He was about to get up and put her to bed, but Vivian stopped him. “I’ll take her. I think I‘m going to turn in for the night, anyway.”

David handed her off to Vivian once again and said goodnight. He sat on the porch swing for a long time after that, thinking about everything. Putting his life into perspective. He could honestly say he was happy. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out the cell phone. He dialed Archie’s number and waited for him to pick up.

“Hello?”

“Hey. Didn’t wake you up did I?”

“Huh? Wh-oh! No. I was uh, just laying here on the bus thinking about a song that I heard.”

“Oh yeah?”

“HmmMmm. It reminded me of you.” Archie replied.

David could hear him rustling around in his bed. “What was it?”

“Um, it’s called ‘Love Will Keep You Up All Night.” He replied, crossing his fingers and hoping that David wouldn’t ask any further questions.

“Hmm, I don’t believe I’ve heard it. Who sings it?”

Archie groaned. “Oh...um…the…I have no idea.”

David raised a suspicious brow. “What are you hiding?” He asked. “Are you listening to a boy band or something?”

“It’s not my fault. My sister borrowed my Ipod a few months ago and put some songs on it. I just…like this one.”

David chuckled. “Sure. Likely story.”

Archie gasped. “It’s true!”

“Ok.”

“So um, how did things go?” He asked shyly.

David grinned. “Actually, things went surprisingly well. Great even. Viv has changed. She said she already knew. I didn’t even have to tell her.”

“Really?” David could hear the happiness in Archie’s voice. “Babe, that is wonderful.”

“I know. I….” he hesitated realizing that what he was about to say might make Archie uncomfortable, but he continued anyway, wanting to be honest. “I really needed her approval. Ya know? I feel like a huge weight has been lifted.”

“I understand.” And really he did. This was Cassie’s mom. Addison’s grandmother. It was only natural that David seek her approval. “I’m just happy that you’re getting their support.”

“Yeah,” David sighed. Of course the only exception was his dad, but he knew he couldn’t let that get in his way. He had to take the good with the bad and be strong. “So how is the tour going?”

“Good! It’s a lot of fun. Oh, hey guess what!”

“What?”

“I have a couple days off next week and I’ll only be a few hours away from Kansas City. I was wondering if maybe we could, um, hang out.”

David felt himself beaming. I’d love to hang out. That would be cool. We need to go on a date.”

“A date?” Archie asked.

“Yes, because we’ve never officially had a date, so yeah….what would you like to do?”

“Oh…Gosh. I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it.”

“Dinner and a movie is a bit overrated if you ask me….”

“Yeah. Like we can do that any time. I don’t know. I’m sure you can think of something amazing to do.”

David smiled. “I’ll come up with something.”

Their phone call lasted for a while longer and they finally said goodnight with promises to talk the following day.

*****

The remainder of the week went by quickly. Soon it was Wednesday and David found himself driving along the familiar streets of Kansas City. He’d left Addison with his mom, asking her to keep her until Thursday. She’d been more than happy to baby sit.

He was supposed to pick up Archie at his hotel at six pm. He glanced at his watch. It was 5:43. He decided that he’d waited long enough, so he turned left at the next light making his way around the block to the hotel. Once he had parked in the parking garage, he put on his hat and sunglasses before making his way into the lobby. He smiled at he receptionist behind the desk. “Hello.”

“Hi. Could I help you, Mr. Cook?”

David frowned momentarily and removed his sunglasses. So much for that disguise. “Yes, please. I’m here to David Archuleta. He’s expecting me, so could you please call him and let him know that I am here?”

“Um, sure. Just one moment.”

David nodded and backed away from the desk. He looked around the quaint lobby. Leave it to Archie not to stay in a fancy hotel. He was so modest.

“Mr. Cook?” The receptionist called. “He said he would be down in just a moment.”

“Thank you,” he replied. He only had to wait a few minutes before the elevator doors opened and Archie emerged, smiling when he saw him. “Hey!”

“Cook!” Archie had to resist the urge to run into his arms. He settled for one of those friendly hugs. “How are ya?”

“Good, Arch,” he answered with a smile. “You ready?”

“Mmmhmm.” Archie shoved his hands in his pockets and followed David out of the lobby.

Once they were in the car, David leaned over, pulling Archie into a kiss. Archie’s hand went to the back of David’s head while they gave each other a proper hello. “God, I’ve missed you,” David whispered, resting his forehead against Archie’s.

“Missed you too.” They’d only been away from each other for ten days, but it had felt like forever to them. “So, uh, what are we doing tonight?”

David chuckled. “Well, you know how I said that dinner and a movie was over rated?” Archie nodded. “Well, that’s kind of what we’re doing.” He smiled at the way Archie looked at him and shook his head, obviously amused. “We‘re going to Lidia’s, and then I’m taking you to the Starlight Theater to see a Broadway show.”

Archie stared at him with wide eyes. “Really?”

“Yes, really. That sound good to you?”

Archie nodded his head and turned around to grab his seatbelt. “It sounds great.”

 

****

Later that night, they returned to the hotel, sneaking in the back entrance so that the fact that David was spending the night in Archie’s room wouldn’t lead to suspicions. Archie used his key card and let them in. David threw his bag down on the chair near the window before sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Nice room,” he said taking in the simple room with one king size bed. He felt a bit nervous, because technically this would be the first night they spent together as a couple. He swallowed thickly at the thought of what that implied.

“Yeah,” Archie agreed, tossing his keycard onto the table. He walked over to where David was sitting. “I had a really nice time, tonight.” He sat down beside of him.

David smiled. “Me too.”

“You know…” He began. “I don’t want the night to end here.”

“Well, I’m not planning on going anywhere, so I guess it’s not ending here,” David replied with a teasing smirk.

“Well. You…You know what I mean.”

David’s mouth dropped open and he stared at Archie with wide eyes. “Archuleta, I do not put out on the first date.”

Archie gasped and looked at him with a horrified glare. “No…No…I uh…that’s…Not… Oh Gosh!”

By this time, David was doubled over in laughter. “I’m joking, Archie,” he gasped between fits of laughter. He noticed that Archie’s cheeks weren’t getting any less red with his confession. He knew then that it was time to be serious, even thought the jokes tended to lessen the nervous feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. He stopped laughing. “I’m sorry. That was a bad time to make a joke. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m just really scared right now.”

Archie looked surprised. “What are you afraid of?”

David smiled weakly at the younger man sitting beside of him. He reached down and took Archie’s hand in his. “Arch…I’ve never…you know, been in a relationship like this and I’m really not sure how it works.” He paused, realizing how that sounded. His nervousness was turning him into a blundering idiot. “Well, I mean, I know how it works, I’m just not sure….”

“Shh….” Archie put his other hand on top of David’s, understandingly. “I’ve never done this before either.”

“You…”

Archie shook his head. “Just because I made out with some people doesn’t mean anything else happened,” he explained.

David nodded, some of his nervousness dissipated with that information. “Oh.”

Archie reached up and placed a hand on the side of David’s face, making him look at him. “We can learn together.”

David nodded. “I think I like that idea.”

Archie smiled, leaning in to press his lips against David’s. He closed his eyes, savoring the gentle caress of David’s perfect lips against his own. He found that out of the few people that he had kissed not one of them made him feel the way that David Cook did. His lips were soft. His taste was sweet. He felt like he could just drink him in.

David turned slightly on the bed so that he could pull Archie into his arms while he deepened their kiss. He felt Archie’s fingers tangling in his hair as their tongues met in a passionate duel. He let his own hands slip beneath the fabric of Archie’s shirt, causing the younger man to shudder and gasp as the tips of his fingers brushed over his skin. They broke their kiss for David to lift the shirt over Archie’s head. “You’re so beautiful,” David whispered, taking in the sight of Archie’s toned chest and tight abs. He ran his fingers lightly over the younger man’s torso. Archie’s fluttered shut as he bit his lip. David’s hands on him were like fire, burning a trail where ever they touched.

Archie reached for the hem of David’s shirt, tugging at it until David helped him take it off, tossing it to the side along with Archie’s shirt. He mimicked David’s actions and ran his hands slowly over David, admiring the contrasts of his dark skin gliding slowly over David’s paleness.

Then suddenly, David’s lips were back on his, kissing him softly, lowering him to the bed. Archie sighed contentedly as David stretched his body out against his. He continued to kiss him until they had to break apart for air. “Mmm, Cook,” Archie sighed as David’s lips ghosted over his jaw and moved slowly down to his neck, licking and nipping at the copper toned skin.

David moved his mouth further down, leaving a wet trail over Archie’s collarbone as he bathed his chest with his warm tongue. Archie gasped when David flicked his tongue over his nipple. Soon David had kissed and licked his way down to the waist band of Archie’s jeans. He looked up at him, silently asking for permission.

Archie swallowed thickly and found his voice. “You too?”

David nodded with a smile and stood up. He stood between Archie’s legs that were dangling off the edge of the bed. He reached down and unbuttoned the button on Archie’s jeans, slowly sliding the zipper down. Then he hooked his fingers in two belt loops and began to tug. Archie lifted his hips up off the bed allowing David to fully remove the jeans, leaving him in only a pair of boxer briefs. David licked his lips unconsciously, as his eyes traced the outline of Archie’s length beneath the thin material.

Archie then sat up, his eyes meeting David’s momentarily. David stood completely still as Archie reached out with trembling hands to unbuckle his belt and unbutton his pants. Archie pushed them over David’s hips and down his legs. His eyes were wide as David stepped out of the pants and kicked them to the side.

Archie scooted back to the middle of the bed, shoving the covers down as David moved to join him. David hovered his body over Archie’s as his mouth devoured his once again. Their hands were suddenly everywhere, touching, feeling as much of each other as they could. Archie gasped loudly when he felt the palm of David’s hand rubbing him through the material. “Oh, Gosh…” he sighed, breaking away from David’s lips. His hands moved to the elastic waistband of David’s boxer briefs and began pushing them down, so that his hands were resting on bare skin. “Please…” Archie whimpered.

David sat up on his knees and looked down at his boyfriend. “You sure about this Arch?”

Archie nodded his head. “Don’t you want to?”

“Oh, God. Yes.” He knew that neither one of them were ready for the ‘big’ step and he honestly didn’t know when they would be, but that wasn’t about to stop him from wanting to do other things to make Archie feel good. He leaned down and kissed Archie once more before raking his fingers down over Archie’s chest and stomach to finally hook in the waistband of his underwear. He pulled at the flimsy material and removed them completely when Archie raised his hips. He took in the sight of a naked David Archuleta lying on the bed in front of him. “Oh, God, Archie…” he whispered as he ran his hands up the insides of Archie’s thighs.

And then Archie was pushing at his underwear, wanting to see him too. David helped him out an removed them. “Better?”

“Much.” Archie’s choked out while his eyes swept up and down David’s hard length. He reached down and wrapped his fingers around it, causing David to gasp in pleasure and surprise.

“Shit, Arch…” He swatted the hand away and leaned forward pressing his body back down onto Archie’s, both of them groaning when their erections brushed against each other sending sparks of ecstasy through their bodies.

“Oh mmm…” Archie moaned as David’s body rested flat against his. He wrapped his arms and legs around him and they began to grind their hips against each other in unison. “Oh…”

“I love you,” David whimpered against his ear.

“I…” Archie gasped, “I love you, t-too..”

David raised up slightly, bracing himself with his arms while he continued to grind against Archie. Their lengths rubbing against each other, both slick with pre-cum. “Fuck, Arch….Oh….” He slowed his rocking hips and got to his knees. Looking down, he took both of their erections into his hand and began to stroke them. His eyes met Archie’s and then he felt Archie’s hand join his, wrapping around the other side of their cocks, fingers intertwining with his own to form a cocoon around them. “Oh, yes….”

“Mmmm, Cook….feels so good,” Archie moaned, thrusting up into the hollowness of their hands as they worked their erections together. “Oh yeah….”

David gritted his teeth, hissing as he bucked his hips in rhythm with their strokes. It wasn’t too long before he was panting, feeling his orgasm building quickly. “Oh, God…Archie, I’m going to….” David glanced down at Archie with his eyes closed, his bottom lip clenched between his teeth, and his chest heaving. That was all it took for him. He cried out with his release splattering all over their hands and stomachs. “ShitfuckMmmm…”

Archie was soon following suite. The look on David’s face, the sound of him cumming so hard and the feeling of his ejaculation against his own erection and fingers sent him over the edge and he too was shouting as he came, adding to the sticky mess between them.

David collapsed against him, breathing heavily against his neck. “Archie…that was…”

“HmmMmm,” Archie agreed, reaching up to rest his hand on David’s moist back.

Finally when they had both caught their breath, David placed a small kiss on his lips before getting up. Archie watched with a smile as he walked naked into the bathroom. David heard water running and assumed David was cleaning up. He should do that too, but his body was so relaxed at the moment, he couldn’t think of getting up. David soon returned with a warm washcloth. He smiled at Archie as he slipped back into the bed. He then took his time wiping Archie clean of their stickiness. “There.”

Archie sighed lazily looking up at David. “Thank you.”

David tossed the washcloth across the room towards the bathroom where it landed on the tiled floor with a splat. He grinned and then pulled Archie into his arms before pulling the blankets around them.

Archie snuggled against him and their legs tangled together. He tilted his head up to look at David who was watching him. “What?”

David’s smile mirrored his. “Nothing. I just like looking at you.” Archie blushed and buried his head in the crook of his loves neck. David rested his chin against Archie’s and sighed. “Goodnight, baby.”

“G’Night.” Archie’s muffled voice replied.


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

The morning light filtered through the window, shining beams of light across the couple that lay cuddled peacefully in each other’s arms. David felt the light on his face and opened his eyes slowly. He smiled when he noticed his Archie’s head resting against his chest, he felt short burst of warm air on his skin with each breath he took. Sleep enhanced his beauty, and the vision nearly took David’s breath away. He moved his hand and began to trace soft lines up and down Archie’s arm that lay draped across his stomach. A lot of thoughts were swarming David’s mind, including thoughts of what happened between them the night before, and what would happen between them in the future. David felt a shiver crawl up his spine. They hadn’t discussed anything about intimacy. The night before things had just happened because it felt right. He knew there was so much more that he wanted to experience with Archie, he just wasn’t sure how to go about doing it. Archie seemed so fragile the last thing he wanted to do was hurt him. Then the thought that Archie might prefer something entirely different crossed his mind. His fingers stilled as he thought about that. He was still staring off into space when Archie awoke.

“Babe?” Archie said softly. “How long have you been awake?”

David shook his head, trying to clear it. “Um, not long,” he replied. “Did you sleep well?”

Archie grinned, his cheek still resting against David‘s chest. “I slept wonderfully.”

David smiled as the man in his arms curled tighter against him. “Hey Arch,” David asked, his voice still rough from sleep. “I was thinking.”

“About what?” Archie slid his hand up over David’s stomach and began to run his fingers through the light patch of hair in the center his chest while David’s hand rubbed lazy, small circles over his back.

“A lot of things.” He stared at the ceiling for a moment before he looked back down at him. “Ya know, Andy & Jeanie found them a nice apartment in LA and will be moving out of my house soon. I think it’s going to seem pretty empty.” He felt Archie’s fingers still their movement on his chest, but he still didn’t say anything. “How would you feel about moving in with me and Addie?”

Archie sat up, looking at David with a huge grin. “Really?”

David smiled and nodded his head. “Yeah.”

“Gosh! David, I’d love to!” He was still smiling. “Wait. Are you sure?”

“What? Of course I’m sure.” Archie started to lean in to kiss him but stopped himself right before he got to David’s lips. He smacked his hand over his mouth as his eyes grew wide causing David too look at him, rather alarmed. “What? What’s wrong?” Archie mumbled something, but David couldn’t hear it clearly due to the fact that his hand was still over his mouth. “What?”

“MRNIG BETH”

David’s brow arched. “Morning breath?” Archie nodded, and David cracked up. “What the hell, Arch?” He reached up and pulled Archie’s hand away from his mouth and put his other hand on the back of his neck. He sat up a bit as he pulled Archie down for a searing kiss.

Reluctantly, Archie gave in and began kissing him back. “Mmmph!” Archie moaned as David suddenly flipped them over so that he was flat on his back while David leaned over his upper body, kissing him thoroughly with one hand moving over his torso.

******

Over the next few weeks, Archie was back on tour and David was helping Andy and Jeanie move into their apartment while working simultaneously on his next album. He and Archie had managed to sneak in several rendezvous up until they both had a few days free around the beginning of July.

David had talked Archie into going with him back to Blue Springs for their annual celebration. He’d promised that they’d only spend a little time there before going back to LA in order to start getting Archie moved in. Archie agreed and so, they were spending the holiday in David’s hometown.

They had gone to the parade early that morning and had a cookout in the park with David’s family while the festivities happened all around them. Surprisingly enough, neither of them had been hassled much by autograph seeking fans. David felt that it was the fact that Blue Springs’ residents respected him enough to give him his privacy, and did the same for his friends.

Later in the evening, they took Addison to the carnival. “I love carnivals,” David said as they walked through the gates after he paid for their tickets. Addison was walking between them, holding on to their hands.

Archie smiled and looked around at tall the games and rides that the carnival had to offer. He had to admit that he hadn’t really spent a lot of time at carnivals as a child. He was too busy with other things. He was glad he was getting to experience one with David and Addison, though.

“Daddy, can we go on that?” She asked, her eyes wide as she pointed to the Ferris Wheel.

“Sure can, Princess. What else do you want to ride?”

“I don’t know. I want some cotton.”

David laughed softly when Archie gave him a questioning look. “Yum. Cotton Candy. You want some too, Archie?”

“Nah. I’ll eat some of yours.”

“I don’t share my cotton candy,” he said as he let go of Addison’s hand to walk up to the concession stand.

Addison looked up at Archie. “I share.”

Archie giggled softly and squatted down to her level. “Aww, thanks, sweetie. You’re so much nicer than your old man,” he teased, looking towards Davis who was standing mere inches away.

“Old man?” David glared at him as he paid for a bag of cotton candy. He opened it and handed it to Addison who dug into it immediately. When Archie stood back up, David leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Well if that’s the case, then this old man might not be able to get it up tonight.”

Archie smirked. “That’s ok. As long as I can.”

David stared at him, shocked by that quick comeback. “Shit. I really am wearing off on you.”

Archie laughed before he was forced to look down at Addison who was tapping on his stomach with a handful of blue cotton candy. He smiled down at her and accepted the already sticky candy. “Thank you!”

“Welcome!” She grinned up at him, her lips and teeth looked like she’d been chewing on a smurf.

Archie chuckled as they began to walk on into the festivities. “Oh, we have to do that!” Archie said, pointing towards the little photo booth where they could get personalized t-shirts, mugs, key chains, or other items. “The three of us.”

David smiled and agreed. “We should.” He looked down at Addison who was clutching Archie’s hand in one of her small ones and her bag of candy in the other. “Want to get your picture taken, Addie?”

“You too?” she asked.

“Yeah. Me too.”

“And Archie?”

“Yep!”

“Ok!” She grinned up at Archie who was smiling down at her.

David scooped her up “Alright! Lets get that mouth of yours cleaned up first. You’re lips are blue!” She giggled and leaned in placing a sloppy kiss on his cheek. He wrinkled his nose. “Now I have blue lips on my cheek.”

Archie was laughing at them and stopped David from wiping it off. “You should leave it there.”

“Why?”

“For the memory.”

“Would you like to put a matching one on the other cheek?” He set Addison up on a nearby fence post and held her there with one arm so that he could get a wipe to wash her face with.

Archie smirked and stuffed the last of his cotton candy into his mouth, and licked his lip. “Not that cheek.”

David glared at him as he pulled a baby wipe from Addison‘s back pack. “What has gotten into you?”

Archie leaned closer to whisper, “Well, I would say you, but um, that hasn’t happened yet.”

David gasped and his eyes grew wide. He looked around as if searching for something. “Ok. Who are you and what have you done with David Archuleta?”

Archie shrugged. “I missed you.”

David smiled and made a funny face at Addison while he cleaned her face up. “We missed you too, Arch.” Addison took the wipe from her dad and reached up to wipe away the blue smudge she’d put on his cheek. “Thank you, baby.” He picked her back up and the three of them walked over to the photo booth where a middle aged woman sat behind a table waiting for customers. It was still pretty early in the evening so the carnival wasn’t that busy. “Hi,” he greeted as he began to look around at the different merchandise.

“Good evening,” the lady replied with a smile. “Let me know if you find something you like.”

“Well, we want a picture of all of us. We just need to find something to put it on,” David replied.

“The key chains are on special, two for ten. The framed portraits are twenty-five,” she recommended.

“That would be cool,” Archie said. “We could each have a keychain and the portrait would be perfect for…”

“Alright,” David agreed. “That’s what we’ll take.” He turned and grinned at Archie. “Anything else?”

“Nah, I think that’s enough.”

About 20 minutes later, they were walking away from the photo booth with their portrait and key chains. “This turned out really nice,” Archie said as he looked over the photo.”

“Yeah, it did.” David smiled and stopped Addison from tugging at his hat. “You ready to ride some rides?” She nodded her head and struggled to get down. “Hold on!” he laughed. “We need to get you a wristband first.” He led them over to the ticket booth and purchased them each a wristband.

“What?” Archie asked when David handed him the ticket so that he could pick up his wristband at the table behind the ticket booth. “I’m not…”

“Yes you are.”

“Well at least let me pay for mine?”

David shook his head. “And what kind of boyfriend would that make me?”

Archie couldn’t help the joyous smile that spread over his face. The mere idea that David was his boyfriend sent his heart into a tizzy, but to actually hear it was just amazing. “Well what about me?” Archie asked. “I’m not exactly a…”

“You can buy dinner,” David interrupted. “Fair enough?”

“Ok.” He took the ticket from his hand. “Does this mean I have to get on the Ferris Wheel?”

“It certainly does.”

“Great.”

David laughed softly as the lady behind the table put their wrist bands on them. Once they were all equipped with matching lime green bands, they headed off in the direction of the kiddie rides.

David stood near the gate to the Carousel holding on to their picture, Addison’s cotton candy, and her backpack while watching her and Archie. Addison was on a horse with a pink saddle, laughing merrily while Archie stood behind her with a hand on her back so that she wouldn’t fall off. She would wave at him each time she went around. He smile and wave back making her giggle and turn to tell Archie. It gave him a comforting feeling to know how well they got along.

When they got off the Carousel, David led them off to some games and he won them each a stuffed bear. Archie giggled awkwardly when David handed him a big blue one to match Addison’s pink on. “Aww, I shall call him Cookie.”

David laughed. “I think it’s time for the Ferris Wheel.” He grabbed Addison’s hand while carrying her bear and the bag of stuff that they’d bought in the other. Addison giggled and reached up to grab Archie’s free hand.

“Swing!” She shouted gleefully.

“Ok…” Archie said. “Oh the count of three. One….two…”

“Three!!!!” She squealed as she kicked her feet up and the two men gave her a swing. “Weee!!!!” She was still laughing when her feet touched the ground. “Again!”

“If we do it again, we’ll miss getting on the Ferris Wheel,” David explained as they started walking. They waited in line for a moment before they were finally on the ride, Addison safely between them and the stuffed bears perched on their laps. David smiled over at Archie as he put his arm over the back of the chair, going around them both.

“Daddy!” Addison squealed in awe. “Look!” She pointed out over the crowded fair grounds.

“Yeah. You can see a lot from up here, can’t you?”

“Pretty lights!” She clapped her hands and leaned forward a little. Archie grabbed the back of her shirt just because her leaning made him a bit uneasy. “See the lights, Archie?” She asked, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

“I do. They’re beautiful.”

David was content to just sit back and enjoy the happy banter between them. After a few minutes on the ride, when it was getting closer to the end, they were stopped at the very top while the people at the bottom were being let off and new ones let on. David put his hand on the back of Archie’s neck and pulled him closer. He smiled when Archie realized what he was doing. “Come on, Arch. This is romantic.” Archie smiled lovingly at the older man and let him kiss him tenderly while they shielded themselves with the stuffed animals.

Their mouths parted with a chuckle from David and a whimper from Archie when Addison’s hands began tickling their chins. They both looked down at her. She was leaning back against the chair, looking up at them, giggling. “Kisses!”

At the same time, both of them peppered her cheeks with kisses causing her to squeal in delight as the Ferris wheel began to move again.

*****

After the carnival, they went back to Beth’s house. Earlier in the day, they’d had the argument about where they’d be staying. They’d spent the night before in a hotel and David’s mother was appalled. She insisted that they stay with her. Of course she also insisted that they use the guest room seeing as how David’s old bed was too small. That was kind of an awkward conversation to have with his mother.

David put Addison in her bed after her bath because he knew she had to be pretty tired after such a big day. “Daddy?”

“Yes, Princess?” He asked, leaning over the side of her toddler bed.

“Story?”

“You want me to read you a bed time story?” She nodded and scooted over, moving her new stuffed bear in order to leave room for him to lay down with her. “Ok. Do you want to pick or can I?”

“You can,” the little girl replied with a yawn.

“Ok.” David went to the book case near the door and looked over the carious children’s books. “Oh, how about Winnie the Pooh?”

“Yeah!” Addison said, waiting for him to come back. “I like Winnie the Pooh Bear.”

David took the book from the shelf and rejoined her. He sat down on the bed and pulled her against him so that she could rest her head on his arm. “Once upon a time, deep in the hundred acre woods…” he began.

He wasn’t surprised when he looked down to find her sleeping before he was half way done. He closed the book and laid it on the nightstand. Carefully, he extracted himself from her arms and tucked her back into her bed. “Love you,” he whispered as he placed a kiss on her head. He turned off the light and closed the door partially when he finally left.

****

He found his mom & Archie in the kitchen when he went downstairs. He hopped up onto the stool beside of Archie. Across from where his mother was standing, sipping on her cup of coffee. “She’s sound asleep,” he announced.

“Didn’t figure it would take her long,” Beth said.

“Your mom made pie,” Archie said, pointing to the half eaten pie on his plate.

David looked from the pie to his mom. “Where’s mine?”

She looked pointedly at him. “In the refrigerator.”

David took the his and got up to get it, while his mom poured him a cup of coffee and sat it down on the counter. “Oh… cherry. Do we have any ice cream?”

“Of course.”

David grinned and cut his pie. Then he put it into the microwave to warm.

“So what time are you guys leaving tomorrow?”

“The flight leaves at 9:15,” Archie replied.

“Oh. That will give me time to make you breakfast.”

“Mom, you don’t have to,” David said while he finished scooping a glob ice cream on to his now hot piece of pie.

“But I want to.”

“That sounds great, Beth.” Archie smiled at her. “What are we having?”

“Pancakes? I don’t know. I’ll likely decide in the morning. Do you have any requests?”

“French toast,” David replied.

“I was asking Archie,” his mother teased.

David returned to his stool, setting his pie down on the counter in front of him. He nudged Archie. “Quit steeling my Mama, boy.”

“What? I can’t help it if she likes me better than you.”

Beth laughed before moving around the counter. “Well, I am going to bed.” She gave David a hug and kissed his cheek. “Night, Darlin’.”

“Night, Mom.”

Beth smiled and hugged Archie. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Beth. Thanks again for the pie.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie. Oh, Dave. Don’t forget to put the safety gate up at the top of the stairs before you go to bed.”

“Already did,” he replied with a mouthful of cherry pie and vanilla ice cream.

His mom smiled and then headed towards her bedroom where her husband was already sleeping. Archie laughed at the way David was eating his pie.

“What?” He asked, noticing the way that Archie was looking at him. “This is fucking delicious.”

“I know, but dang!”

David glared at him before grabbing his bowl and getting up. “Come on, lets go see what is on TV.”

Archie sighed and got up to follow David into the dark living room with what was left of his own pie. “Won’t your mom like have a cow if we eat in here?”

“What Mama doesn’t know, won’t hurt her.” David plopped down onto the sofa and propped his feet up on the coffee table, grabbing the remote from the end table as he did.

Archie sat down beside of him and watched as he turned the TV on and began flipping through the channels. He finally settled on Logo, seeing that Queer as Folk was on. “Um, what’s this?”

David chuckled. “It’s a show about the gay community in Pittsburgh. You’ve never heard of it?”

“No. You’ve watched it before?”

“No. Cassie used to tell me about it though. Apparently she loved it. I think she had a thing for Hal Sparks actually.”

“Oh…” Archie’s eyes grew wide as two of the characters on the screen began making out and fondling each other heavily. He learned later that the characters were Brian and Justin. Brian was an older guy while Justin was just seventeen. Archie squirmed slightly realizing the similarity between the on screen couple and himself and David. As the show progressed on, they finished off their pie and became more comfortable on the couch. Eventually Archie was covering his eyes and nervously telling David that he shouldn’t be watching that stuff.

“Why not?”

“It’s embarrassing,” came Archie’s reply.

David sat up and turned to face Archie. He took the hand away from his eyes and smiled. “Why?”

“I don’t know. That’s like the closest thing to porn that I’ve ever seen. I mean actually, to me, that is porn!”

“It’s syndicated. It can’t be porn,” David reasoned, running his hand through Archie’s hair. He smiled when Archie looked up at him and their eyes locked. “This is turning you on isn’t it?”

Archie’s eyes grew wide. “What?! No! It’s…It’s…not. I uh… I just…” He was silenced by David’s lips crashing down on his. “Mmm…” he moaned as David’s tongue pried his lips apart. Archie began clutching at David’s shirt, pulling him closer to him as their tongues began that passionate dance that he’d grown to love over the last two months.

David soon had Archie flat on his back while his body settled on top of him. “Fuck,” David murmured as he broke away from his mouth and trailed his lips along Archie’s jaw to his ear. “I could kiss you forever.”

Archie moaned softly, closing his eyes an letting his head fall back to give David better access. David sucked gently and nipped lightly at Archie’s strong neck. He stopped only when he was satisfied with the tiny mark he’d made right where his neck and shoulder met.

His mouth then moved to the other side to trail kisses over the smooth skin. He gasped when he felt the chill of Archie’s hands inching up his shirt, touching bare skin. David returned the gesture and began pushing Archie’s shirt up, letting his hands skim over his toned abs. He moved down and let his lips touch against the flat plain of Archie’s stomach, causing his muscles to contract. “Oh, Cook…” came his subdued whine as David’s tongue swirled around his navel, dipping in before traveling lower to the tiny patch of hair that was peeking out above his waistband. He sucked softly at the tender skin there, causing Archie to buck his hips slightly. “Cook…” his whines were turning into pleas and David knew he should probably stop before he went too far in the middle of his mother’s living room.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he heard a door open and light flooded the hallway behind them. He quickly sat up, smacking at Archie’s legs, trying to get him to do the same. It took a minute for Archie to realize what was happening, but once he did, he was scrambling to get into an upright, decent position.

Beth walked into the room stopping when she realized that they were still in there. “Oh! You boys are still up.” She glanced at the TV. “And what are you watching?”

David looked at the TV and grabbed the remote, flipping it off so that his mom didn’t catch too much of the scene at Babylon. “Nothing, Mom. We were um…just getting ready for bed.” He looked over at Archie who was staring at the blank TV screen. It was dark, but David could tell his face was a crimson shade.

“Uh-huh. Well, I was just going for a drink. Don’t mind me.” She walked on through the living room, going into the kitchen.

David stood up and took Archie by the hand. “Come on, Babe. Lets go to bed.” Archie didn’t reply, he simply got up and let David lead him up the steps to the bed room. “I’ll be there in just a minute. I want to check on Addie.” Archie nodded and went on into bedroom.

When David returned, he noticed that Archie was in the bathroom. He sat down on the bed and waited. About five minutes later, he’d returned. His face was still red, but he was smiling. “I can’t believe your mom almost caught us.”

David chuckled and agreed. “That would have been awkward.” He licked his lips as Archie came to a stop directly in front of him. He slipped his arms around him. “So um…can I finish what I was starting?”

Archie bit his lip and put his hands on David’s arms. “Do you want to?” When he received an affirmative nod from David, he picked up the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it up over his head. Leaving him in his jeans.

David licked his lips, looking at the tanned, tightness of Archie’s abdomen. He swallowed thickly, tracing the muscles with his eyes. His hands moved up Archie’s back, caressing the hard muscles there before slowly making their way around to his front.

Archie felt a tightness in his groin as David’s fingers ghosted over his skin, pinching gently at his hard nipples. Then his mouth was there and Archie grasped at the brown locks of David’s hair as his tongue and lips set his body on fire.

David grabbed Archie’s hips and pulled, turning slightly so that he landed on the bed. His mouth continued to suck and nibble while his hands busied themselves with the button on his jeans.

Archie closed his eyes and reveled in the sensations caused by everything that David was doing to him. He heard the faint sound of his zipper being pulled down and then his jeans were being tugged from his body. “Cook….” he murmured tossing his arms above his head and looking down at the older man whose mouth was back on his navel, dipping his tongue in and out.

David paused to look up at Archie. His eyes were pleading. His lips were red from where he’d been biting them. He raised up and looked into Archie’s eyes, giving him a lustful stare. “I love you,” he whispered before capturing his lips in a quick, searing kiss. Then he was descending Archie’s body again.

Before Archie knew what was happening, he felt a hand wrapping around his erection. “Oh gosh…” gasped, gripping the bedspread in his fists.

David gathered the beads of moisture pooled at the tip of Archie’s cock into his palm and spread it over his length, tugging gently. He then flicked his tongue over the tip causing Archie’s hips to lift up off the bed. He grinned liking the reaction he received.

He held Archie’s shaft with his right hand and cupped his balls in his left, fondling gently before he stuck his tongue out and tentatively licked the underside of Archie’s cock going from the base to the tip. He decided immediately that he liked how it tasted and felt against his tongue.

Archie forced his eyes open to watch as he continued licking his length, stopping once in a while to suck his balls between his lips. He stroked him a few times with his hand, happy when he saw more little droplets of moisture oozing out the tip. He bravely dipped his tongue into the thick pool and spread it around the head of Archie’s cock before he took the tip into his mouth, sucking softly.

The soft sounds that David was making combined with how much he found himself enjoying the task at hand was making him impossibly hard. He reached down and unbuttoned his own jeans and pushed them away, freeing his own cock. He began pumping his own cock slowly while he continued to lavish attention to Archie’s with his mouth.

Archie groaned softly feeling his cock twitch a little as David sucked him deeply into his mouth. “Oh, yeah baby…”

David slid his mouth down over him, taking as much of him in as he could. His hands rested on his thighs as he began to bob his head up and down on the thick erection.

“Cook baby…” Archie tangled his fingers in his hair as he took him in and out of his mouth and stroked him with his hand at the same time. “Feels so good. Oh yeah….oh God!” .

Although David was a bit squeamish at the idea of letting him cum in his mouth, he wanted to try it. He hadn’t minded the taste so far. How bad could it be? He let go of his own erection and placed both hands on Archie’s thighs, letting his mouth do the rest of the work, bringing him to a peak.

“Oh….Cook…Oh yeah,” he grunted, trying to thrust his hips up, but David‘s hands held him down. “I’m so close….so close baby.” David wrapped his hand around the base of Archie’s cock and squeezed gently as he sucked him hard.

Archie grabbed a pillow and slammed it over his face to muffle the sounds of his screams as his orgasm began to charge through his body. Suddenly David could feel him cumming and he moved his mouth so that just the tip was still inside.

“Oh God!!!!” He shouted into the pillow, cumming hard into David’s mouth.

David sputtered slightly at first, but after the first few streams of cum landed against the back of his throat, he took him completely back into his mouth, milking him with his tongue and lips. Archie continued thrusting slightly into his mouth. He continued to suck and lick at Archie’s cock until it was soft and Archie’s body stilled beneath him.

When he looked back up at his young lover, the look in his eyes nearly made him cum. They were dark, clouded over with lust and he had a satisfied smirk on his face. He ran his tongue slowly back up Archie’s body, coming to land on those lips that he loved so much.

Archie kissed him deeply, wrapping his arms around him, pulling him down onto him. He thrust his tongue into David’s mouth, tasting himself on his tongue as he sucked softly on it. David was the one who had to break away to breath. “Archie,” he panted.

“Hmmm?”

“Sucking your cock is now my favorite thing to do.” He felt Archie’s body shudder beneath him and he smiled. “You taste so fucking good.”

Archie looked up at him with shy look. “Um…when…we were kissing. I tasted something different. Was….was that me?”

David smirked and nodded. “Yeah, baby. That was you.” He placed a hand on Archie’s cheek caressing gently. “Did you like it?”

“The taste or what you were doing?”

David shrugged. “Both?”

Archie nodded. “I loved what you did. It felt so good. You’re mouth is amazing.” He blushed slightly and David kissed his forehead. “And as for the taste, it was….I dunno…different. I liked it.”

David smiled. “So did I.”

“Cook?”

“Hmmm?”

“I want to do it to you.”

David stared blankly at him for a moment. “You want to do what?”

Archie quickly flipped them over, surprising David as he straddled his waist. “I want to make you feel the way you made me feel. I want to know what you taste like.”  
  



	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

*****

_David stared up at Archie. “Arch, you don’t have….”_

_“I want to.” Archie leaned forward and pressed his lips against David’s. The kiss was soft and tender and David was soon lost in the feeling of Archie’s tongue swirling around, tasting every crevasse of his mouth._  
  
******

That was the first thing that David Cook remembered when he woke up the next morning. He rolled his head to the side, smiling when he saw the man lying next to him. He was still sleeping. David let his eyes wonder over him. He was laying on his stomach, with his arms around the pillow under his head. The white sheet was draped over him up to his lower back, contrasting with his golden skin. David bit his lower lip as his eyes traveled up his back. Up over the his arm that lay next to his face. That beautiful face. David’s eyes then fell to Archie’s lips.

He thought about how they had felt as they caressed every inch of his body. The warmth that he’d felt when Archie bravely took him into his mouth. He closed his eyes as the night before came back to him in vivid pictures. The way Archie had wanted to please him. Wanted to make him feel good. The way he looked up at him with lustful eyes while David’s cock was still throbbing in his mouth. He was surprised at how good Archie was at giving head. It had almost made him question his innocence, but he knew better. If Archie had done anything like that in the past, he wouldn’t have told him that he hadn’t.

David could still feel the gentle suction. It still felt so real. So real, in fact, that it caused him to moan and buck his hips upward.

That’s when he opened his eyes to the realization that it was no longer his imagination at all. He looked down to see that mop of dark hair bobbing up and down slowly. Archie noticed that he was awake and pulled his mouth off of David’s erection while one fist held on to the base. He smiled up at David. “Morning, Baby,” he said before going back down on him.

David gasped and his whole body quivered. “Oh, fuck, Archie….” he moaned, his voice still hoarse from sleep.

“Mmmm,” Archie moaned around him as David’s fingers tangled in his messy black hair.

David knew he wasn’t going to last very long. He bit his lip, trying not to allow his voice to rise above a whisper. “Archie…” he kept panting his name over and over, encouraging him to keep on.

In just a matter of minutes, David was stuffing his fist in his mouth to stifle his own screams as he came into Archie’s mouth. His chest heaved as Archie cleaned him up and then moved up to look into his eyes with a smile.

“Fuck, Arch,” he said with a laugh, letting his head fall back against the pillow. “That was some wake up call.”

Archie blushed. “Sorry. I just couldn’t help myself. I woke up thinking about last night and wanted to do it again.”

David pulled him down so that he was lying against his side. “You must have really enjoyed yourself.”

“I did. It’s so…I don’t know. I just like it.”

David smiled. “Good.” He leaned in and kissed him softly. “I could wake up like that every morning.”

Archie laughed softly. Then there was a soft knock on the door followed by David’s mother’s voice. “Boys! Breakfast will be ready in about 20 minutes.”

David groaned. If nothing else, his mother had wonderful timing. “Thanks, Mom!” He waited to hear her footsteps disappear. “How about a quick shower?” David asked before he leaned in to nibble on Archie’s neck.

Archie’s fingers drew circles on David’s shoulder. “Um…together?”

“MmmHmm,” David replied moving his mouth up to Archie’s ear. “I could help you with your problem.”

Archie smiled. “Problem?”

“The one that is poking me on the leg.”

Archie’s cheeks grew pink but he didn’t feel as embarrassed as he normally would have. “Well then, I think a shower would be nice.”

David cracked up. “Yes. It would be nice, Archie.” He kissed him again before swatting his butt playfully and rolling away from him. “Come on.”

*****

Beth looked up from cutting Addison’s French toast up when the two walked into the kitchen, giggling loudly. “Good morning. How’d you sleep?”

“Like a baby,” David replied as he swooped down to kiss Addison on the cheek. “Mornin’ Princess.”

“Morning, Daddy.” She giggled as his stubble tickled her cheek. “Morning, Archie!”

Archie smiled. “Good morning, Addie.”

They both sat down at the table with the rest of the family to have breakfast before they had to leave for the airport.

 

*****

“Hey, Arch?” David called as he walked into the living room. “My manager just called. I have to run down to the studio for just a few minutes. Do you mind watching Addie until I get back? She‘s sleeping so she shouldn‘t be any trouble.”

Archie looked up from the box he was unpacking. “When is Addie ever any trouble? You know I don’t mind. Everything ok?”

“Yeah. Everything is fine. I just have to giver my consent on a few things.”

“Alright. I’ll see you when you get back then.”

“Yep,” David gave him a quick kiss before grabbing his keys and heading out the door.

Archie continued pulling stuff out of the box. This one in particular had family photos and stuff like that. He looked over at the mantel where the picture that they’d had taken at the carnival set. Beside of it were a pictures of David’s family. There was plenty of room for a few more pictures to be placed up there so he chose a couple of his favorite ones and took them over to the mantel. He was arranging them when Addison walked into the room. “Archie?”

Archie jumped slightly. He hadn’t heard her. “Hey! I thought you were sleeping.”

“I woke up.”

Archie smiled. And continued to arrange the pictures.

“What are you doing?”

He finished, backing up to look at them. “Oh. I’m just putting some pictures of my family up here.”

“Can I see?”

“Sure.” Archie lifted her up, letting her sit against his side to look at the pictures. He pointed to each person in the pictures, explaining who they were. She nodded, listening attentively.

“Where’s Kim?”

“Hmm?” Archie asked.

“She used to be there.” Addison pointed to a spot where a photo of him and David was now sitting.

“Oh. Well um…I guess she must have took it with her.”

Addison looked around a little while longer, taking in all of the pictures. “Is Kim coming back?”

“No sweetie. She’s not.”

“Oh.”

“Does that make you sad?” Archie asked, concerned.

Addison laid her head on his shoulder. “Yeah,” she sighed. “But I like it when you’re here.”

Archie smiled and leaned his head against hers. “Well, I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.”

“I love you, Archie,” she said with a sigh.

Archie was sure his heart was about to explode at that moment. “I love you too, Addie.” He kissed the top of her head. He stood there for a while holding her, looking at the pictures one by one. Something was missing. He raised his head up and looked at Addison. “Hey Addie, do you know where the pictures of your mommy are?”

She lifted her head from his shoulder, smiling brightly as she nodded her head. “I show you!” She began to wiggle and he took the hint that she was trying to get down. So he placed her feet on the floor and she took off towards the hall closet. Archie followed. She stopped and pointed to the door. “In there.”

Archie opened the door and Addison pointed to the top shelf. There was a box there. Archie pulled the box down carefully. He set it on the floor and then sat down beside of it. Addison had already taken the lid. Archie wasn’t surprised when he saw all the letters, DVDs, and other items in there along with several framed photos of Cassie. He picked up the pictures and looked at them one by one. “Which one is your favorite?”

Addison didn’t have to think about her choice. She pointed to the one of Cassie holding her when she was just a baby.

“I like that one too,” Archie said. He looked at the other pictures and picked the one that David had taken with him to Hollywood and kept on his nightstand for the duration of Idol. “How about this one?”

Addison nodded her head and Archie laid those two pictures to the side before placing the others carefully back in the box. He put the lid back on and stood up to put the box back.

“Archie?” Addison asked, while picking up one of the photos. “You know my mommy?”

Archie finished putting the box back and closed the closet door. “No. I didn’t know your mommy. I only know what your Daddy has told me about her.” He reached down and picked up the other photo and then scooped Addison up with his other arm. He carried her back into the living room where he then added Cassie’s pictures to the collection on the mantel.

“Did she love me?”

Archie gasped. He hadn’t been expecting such a loaded question from a three year old. He looked at her, and she looked sad. “She loved you very much.”

Addison stared at the picture for a while longer. “Daddy said she’s an Angel.”

Archie nodded. “I’m sure he’s right.” He paused to think of something else to say. “You know she would have stayed with you if she could, right?”

The little girl nodded. “That’s what Daddy said.”

“Hey, how about we go play with your toys?”

She immediately brightened up. “Ok!” Archie set her down on the floor and she took off again, running into her play room. “Archie! We can play house!”

 

*****

David finally got back to his house a few hours later. He let himself in and looked around. “Hello?”

“We’re in here!” Archie shouted from the play room.

David walked through the living room, noticing that the box Archie had been emptying when he left was still sitting there. He chuckled figuring Addison’s nap didn’t last long. He stopped momentarily by the kitchen to set the bags he’d been carrying on the counter. His smile only grew when he walked into the play room. Archie was sitting Indian style in the middle of the floor while Addison was doing his hair. It was sticking every witch way and Addison was trying to make bows stay attached. He grinned at the way she was biting her lip in concentration. David leaned against the door, just watching for a moment.

Addison finally looked up. “Daddy!”

He caught her as she ran to him. “Hey, my little munchkin! Did you behave for Archie?”

“Yeah.”

“Do I smell food?”

David laughed. “Yeah. I stopped by KFC and got us dinner.”

“Cool.” Archie gave him a small kiss to welcome him home as he passed him in the doorway heading to the kitchen.

“You hungry, Addie?” David asked as he followed Archie.

“Uhhuh!” She replied while nodding her head at the same time.

Archie was already pulling food from the bags and setting the table. He looked up at them. “What do you want to drink, Addie?”

“Grape!”

Archie chuckled. “Ok. One grape Kool Aide it is. Cook?”

“Coke.” He set Addison down in her chair and kissed her head before he went to get some silverware and plates. “You guys have fun while I was gone?”

“Yeah!” Addison replied. “We played house!”

Archie laughed as he grabbed the drinks and a couple of napkins. “Yeah. We had a lot of fun. Addison made my hair all beautiful.”

“Cookified!” Addison giggled.

Archie raised an eyebrow at David causing him to burst into a fit of giggles. “I can’t believe she even knows that word.”

“Oh come on, Arch. It’s cute,” he said as he took his seat.

Archie laughed some more, shaking his head as he sat down to join them. “I didn’t say it wasn’t.”

After dinner, they all went out into the back yard and played on the new swing set David had bought for Addison a few weeks earlier. It didn’t take long for the little girl to be worn out, so David ended up putting her to bed at around 9:00.

When he got back downstairs, Archie was working on his box again. “Need some help?”

“Nah. I’ve got it,” Archie replied. “But thanks.”

“Mmmhmm.” That’s when David noticed the new pictures on the mantel. He walked closer and looked at them. He furrowed his brow, seeing the pictures of Cassie. “Archie?”

Archie looked up to see David staring at the mantel. Suddenly he got the feeling that maybe him putting the pictures there was a bad idea. “Yeah?”

“Um, where did you get those?”

“From the box in the closet. Addie told me where they were.” He walked over to where David was standing. “Is it ok that I put them there?”

David looked at Archie. “It’s more than ok, Baby.” He smiled softly. “The only reason I put them away was because Kim didn’t like seeing them. She thought I needed to let go.”

Archie nodded. “Well, I think Cassie deserves a spot up there with the rest of the family. I mean if it weren’t for her you and I might have never met.”

David thought about what Archie said. “Yeah. I guess your right.”

Archie smiled. “And I think Addison needs it. She’s confused about not having a mother. She’ll be even more confused when she gets old enough to realize that you and I aren’t a conventional couple too, ya know.”

David nodded. “I know.” He looked back to the pictures. “Thank you, Archie.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” he replied as David slipped an arm around his waist, holding him as he looked at each picture. He smiled when David turned to face him.

David leaned in and kissed him tenderly. “I love you so much, Archie.”

Archie was shocked to see the tears in David’s eyes. “Oh…baby, why are you crying?”

“Because I have no idea what I did to deserve you.”

Archie smiled. “You were just you.”

 


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

A few months passed by and Archie’s tour had come to an end around about the same time that David had to start the promotion meetings for the album that he was putting the finishing touches on. His second album. It was unbelievable. While he was in the studio one day, he had an unexpected visitor.

“Hey stranger,” the familiar female voice called from behind David. He stopped what he was doing and turned the swivel chair around. She smiled brightly at him.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” he asked, smiling back at her. He stood up and went to her, giving her a friendly hug.

“Oh, I was just in the building and thought I would stop by to say hello,” she explained. “How have you been?”

“Good. You?”

She nodded with a smile. “I’ve been doing well. Working on an album.”

“Really? Kim, that’s awesome!”

“Yeah. I’m pretty stoked about it. How’s Archie?”

David bit his lip, hesitantly. “He’s fine.”

“Great. I’m assuming everything is all good in the love department?”

He nodded. “Everything is great.”

“And Addie?”

“She’s good. She misses you, though.”

“Really?” Kim smiled. Even though they had their moments, Addison didn’t hate her all the time.

“Yeah. You should stop by and see her sometime.”

“I might do that.” She smiled once more before deciding that she should go. “Well, it’s been nice seeing you again, I‘ll let you get back to work. I just wanted to say hi. And I’m glad things are working out for you guys.”

He smiled. “Thank you.”

She winked. “Don’t be a stranger. You still have my number. Keep in touch?”

He nodded. “Sure. You do the same.”

She hugged him once more before turning to leave. “See you around. Tell Archie and Addie that I said hello.”

He nodded and watched her walk out the door. Strangely enough, he felt a calmness wash over him. He hadn’t realized how much he needed to know that things were cool between he and Kim. She was an awesome person and he still hated himself for basically using her. It was refreshing to know that she had no resentment. He can’t say that he would have been as nice about it if the tables had been turned. He sighed and went back to working on the arrangement he’d been working on for hours. He wanted to get home earlier than he had been. He had plans with Archie and Addison that he didn’t want to cancel.

 

*****

Addison’s eyes were large as she entered the huge pet store with her father and Archie. “Wow!”

David laughed softly. “Addie, have you ever seen so many animals?”

She shook her head, grinning widely. “No. How many can I have, Daddy?”

He chuckled again. “Just one for now, Princess. Just one.”

Addison had been talking to Archie for weeks about wanting a pet. So he’d talked to David and convinced him to get her one. Of course, it hadn’t been that hard to persuade him.

They walked up to the cages where there were oodles of kittens to choose from. Addison squealed in delight as she looked in at the fury bundles of mischief. “I like that one!” She said, pointed towards a black & white kitten.

As she was looking at the kittens a store employee came up to them. “Would you like to hold it, Honey?”

Addison looked up at the woman with a sparkle in her eye. “Can I!?”

The lady smiled. “Sure.” She opened the cage and grabbed the black & white kitten that Addison was looking at.

Addison took it from here with gentleness. “Awww! Daddy, look! Is it a boy or a girl?” The woman explained to Addison that it was indeed a girl.

“She’s so cute,” Archie said as he squatted down to Addison’s level to pet the kitten.

“I want her,” Addison concluded as the kitten nuzzled her cheek. “I’ll name her Panda.”

“Well, don’t you want to look at the rest of the animals before you decide? I thought you wanted to look at the puppies.”

“No,” Addison informed her dad. “Archie wanted to look at the puppies. I want Panda.” David noticed the lady looking at him as if asking for permission to get the paper work started. “Ok. Fine. You can get her.”

Archie smiled brightly at Addison before standing back up. “We can still _look_ at the puppies, though. Right?”

David rolled his eyes and smiled lovingly at Archie. “Of course. We can still look at the puppies.”

So they did just that. They wondered to the other end of the pet store after handing the kitten over to the clerk until they were through. Addison rattled on about how cute each of the puppies were. Archie was quite smitten with the St. Bernard puppies that had first caught his eye. He picked one up from the little kennel that they were in. “Aww! Look, Cook. It’s so cute!”

“Sure it is now, but do you have any idea how big that thing will get?” David asked. “He could possibly out grow you.”

Archie giggled and went back to making cute little faces and talking baby talk to the puppy. He held the puppy up to David, and it licked his cheek. David made a face and wiped the slobbers from his face. “Eww!” Archie only smiled wider and made the comment that the puppy liked him before leaning down with the puppy so that Addison could pet it.

It was obvious to David that Archie really wanted a puppy as much as Addison wanted the kitten. “Can’t we get a lab or a golden or something like that?” He asked, pointing toward the kennels on the other side of the store.

Archie carefully put the puppy back with the others. “What do you mean? I thought we were just getting Addison the kitten.”

David gave Archie a look that said, “sure.” “Come on Arch, you can’t stand there an tell me that you don’t want a puppy.”

Archie’s eyes grew wide with excitement. “Are you saying that we’re getting both?”

“Oh my God, Archie,” David shook his head. “You know, it’s times like this when I really feel guilty about having my way with you.”

Archie tilted his head to the side wondering what David meant by that. “You feel guilty?”

David laughed softly. “I’ll explain later. You just… You’re too much.”

Archie shrugged and went about looking at all the different ones. Finally he came to the kennel where the Golden Retrievers were kept. His eyes sparkled as he took in the cute, furry puppies. “Oh my Gosh, Cook. Addie, look!” He knelt down with her and together they looked through the chain link cage at the puppies.

David stood behind them, amused by how taken they were with the animals. “They’re loyal pets. Very good with kids.” He started mentioning all the good things about Goldens.

Archie smiled up at him as a single puppy made it’s way over to the door where they were standing. It put her paws up on the fencing an whined. He watched as David stepped forward and leaned over the side of the cage to scoop the little ball of fur up.

The puppy immediately took to him. “I like her.”

Archie stood up. “Really?”

“Yeah. Look at her. She’s totally adorable. Like you.”

“We have both?” Addison asked.

David looked down at her. “Yep. You get the kitten and Archie gets a puppy.” He sighed happily as the scene before him tugged at his heart. The two most important people in his life were smiling happily up at him as if he were Santa. “Alright. Shall we go pay for these little varmints.”

“Aww, that’s not nice,” Archie scolded, but he knew David was only teasing. He smiled at the older man and took the puppy from him. “Hi there,” he cooed, holding the puppy close to his face. “You’re so cute!”

 

******

Later that night, they‘d managed to get both animals settled in without anything drastic happening. It did take the kitten a little while to warm up to the puppy, but once it had, they were like best friends. David and Archie finally made it to bed around midnight after trying to get Addison to bed. She was too excited to sleep.

As he lay there, staring up in the darkness, Archie contemplated bringing up a topic that had been on his mind for quite a while. He felt quite nervous about it, but he also felt like he needed to get it out of his system or else he might self-implode. “Cook?” Archie said softly as he turned to his side to face his lover who was still sitting up reading with the aide of a book light.

David adverted his eyes to the younger man lying next to him. “Yeah, babe?”

Archie began picking at the edge of the bedspread. “Um… I was thinking. About us. And I want to…ya know.”

It was late and he was consumed by the story he was reading, so David had to admit that his mind wasn’t functioning well enough to catch his drift. “What?”

Archie groaned, not really wanting to specifically say what he was thinking. He rolled back over and stared at the ceiling. “I…” This was harder than he expected it to be. He knew that he shouldn’t be worried about telling David what he wanted, but what if David didn’t want to do anything more than what they’d already done. Then he would feel like a complete idiot for even asking. “Um, never mind.” He said quickly, “goodnight.”

David closed his book and laid it to the side before reaching up to flip the bedside lamp on. He may have been tired, but he wasn’t stupid. Something was bothering Archie and he needed to get to the bottom of it before either of them went to sleep. “Archie, what is it?”

“It’s stupid. Just forget that I said anything.” He groaned because David looked down at him with a raised brow. He knew that his boyfriend saw right through him. He always did that, and Archie hated it sometimes. “Ok fine. I just…I…dunno. Think it’s time for us to takethenextstepwithsex.”

David stared at him for a moment. “What?” The horrified look on Archie’s face caused him to chuckle. “You said that so fast, I’m not sure if I heard correctly,” he explained. “Please repeat what you said. Only slower this time.”

“You’re seriously going to make me?”

David nodded. A smile graced his face the whole time he was looking down at Archie. “I want to make sure you said what I think you said.”

Archie glared at him and turned over with his back to him. “No. Goodnight.”

David reached over and turned the light back off. He was still smiling when he slid down into the bed, pulling Archie against him. He kissed the back of his neck as he spooned him, while his hand sought out the younger man’s. He gently threaded his fingers with Archie’s. “You really want to?”

Archie was quiet for a second before nodding his head, knowing that David could feel it against his own. “Do you?”

In all honestly, David had been thinking about it too, but he was afraid to say anything. The last thing he’d wanted to do was make Archie feel like he had to do it. “Yeah,” he finally replied. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, actually.”

Archie suddenly turned over to face him. “Really?”

David smiled in the darkness. He could imagine that surprised expression on Archie’s face. “Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Well,” He began as he slid his hand down over Archie’s side, over his hip to his thigh. He pulled Archie’s leg up to drape across his. “I didn’t want to make you feel pressured.”

Archie shuffled around a bit to get more comfortable. “I’ve been driving myself mad trying to figure out how to bring it up.”

“Sorry,” David said sincerely. “I didn’t think you were ready.” He took his hand in his and began placing small kisses over his fingers.

Archie closed his eyes and sighed softly, letting his body relax completely against David’s. “So um, when?”

David chuckled. “Well not tonight!”

“I know that! Gosh.”

“Well, you just seemed so eager.”

Archie felt his cheeks burning and was glad that it was dark in the room. That would just give David something else to tease him about. “Sorry.”

David shook his head, smiling at Archie’s awkwardness. “Hey,” he pulled him closer to him if that were even possible. “Don’t be.” He moved his hand to rest on Archie’s cheek. Before Archie knew what was happening, David’s mouth was on his, kissing him softly, extracting soft moans from the younger man. As he broke away he whispered. “I love you.”

Archie wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, snuggling. “I love you, too.” Just then they both felt a little jolt at the foot of their bed followed by the soft bouncing of four tiny paws running up to them. He giggled softly. “I think someone feels left out.”

David reached out and pulled the puppy down to lay in the little tiny spot between them. “This had better not become a habit, Hermione.” he said as he petted the puppy’s head playfully. He smiled when Archie giggled and began to pet the puppy also. “I can’t believe you named your dog after a character in a book.”

“I love Hermione.”

******

Almost a week passed before David brought up the subject again. They were on their way back from Andy’s place where they had gone for dinner. “So I talked to Andy while you were in the bathroom tonight,” David said.

Archie looked over at David in the driver’s seat. “About?”

“About this Friday night.”

Well that didn’t help any. Archie still had no idea what he was talking about. “What’s this Friday night?”

“I’m taking you on a date.”

Archie smiled. “You are?”

“Uh huh. And then…you know what we talked about?”

Archie felt his stomach began to flutter. “Y-yeah.”

“Well, I thought we could, ya know…afterwards.”

“Oh.”

David took a second to glance at Archie who was staring straight ahead. “You still want to, right?”

“What!? Oh! Yeah. I do. I just… You talked to Andy about that?”

David couldn’t help the small laugh that bubbled up inside of him. “Well, not specifically about that.” He explained as a look of relief washed over Archie’s face. “I just asked him if he and Jeanie could take Addison for the weekend.”

“Oh. The whole weekend?”

“Yeah. I uh, figured we’d need the extra time.”

Archie nodded. He was glad that David was such a caring person. The last thing he wanted was for their first time to be rushed and tossed to the back burner without having the time to enjoy the aftermath. “Wow. Um, ok.”

“You are sure, right?” David asked. “I don’t want you to feel like this is something you have to do, because it’s not.”

“I know. I am sure. It’s been all I can think about.”

David bit his lip. “Me too.”

*****

Friday finally rolled around. They had dropped Addison off at Andy’s on their way to dinner. David took Archie to a fancy Italian restaurant where they enjoyed a full course meal. Afterwards, they took a stroll on the beach. Finally it was time to head back home. The car ride to their house was quiet. Each of them were anticipating the night ahead of them.

Archie was feeling extremely nervous. He’d been imagining what it would feel like to have David inside of him. He was to the point now that he needed it. He’d been reading things online about gay relationships and how everything worked. Not that he was naïve on the subject, he just wanted more specific details. He knew for a fact that he wasn’t the only one who had been surfing the net for information. There were several times that David had forgotten to delete his history and Archie had accidentally come across a few websites of interest. He appreciated the time that David was putting into this. “Cook?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“Are you nervous?”

“More than you can imagine,” he replied.

“Me too.”

David glanced over and smiled, fondly as he pulled into the drive way.

Once they were in the house, David tossed his keys on the table and grabbed Archie’s hand and pulled him to him.

Archie stared up at him for a moment before David lowered his lips to his. Archie sighed into the kiss as David’s lips caressed his slowly and tenderly. He slipped his hands around David’s waist. “Mmm,” he whimpered softly.

David’s hands rubbed soft circles on Archie’s back while his tongue explored every crevasse of his young lover‘s mouth. He wanted to try his best to make him feel at ease with what was about to happen. He licked his lips as he broke away. “You um, ready to go upstairs?”

Archie gripped the edges of David’s black dinner jacket in his fists, and nodded his head. “MmmHmm.”

David leaned in and gave him one more soft peck on the lips before taking his hand and pulling him towards the stairs. Once they reached the bedroom, David took his time undressing the younger man and Archie did the same to him, until finally they were both standing naked in the dimly lit bedroom, standing at the foot of their bed.

David took a step back, resting his hands on Archie’s shoulders. He took a moment to admire the beauty that was before him. He never quite got over how incredibly sexy Archie looked in the nude. He licked his lips and smiled at him.

Archie smiled brightly back at him. At one time he would have never felt comfortable standing in front of David with any clothing on, but now he had no qualms at all because he knew how David felt about him. “You’re staring again.”

David grinned before gently laying Archie down on the bed. “I can’t help it.” He settled himself on top of him. “You’re just so…” he whispered huskily against the younger David’s ear. “Beautiful.” Then he chuckled softly. “Ya know, if we lived alone, I would demand that you walk around naked at all times.”

Archie licked his lips and closed his eyes as the sound of David’s voice sent tingles down his body. He gasped softly feeling David’s lips against his neck. He slipped his arms around David and dug his trembling fingers into the pale, white skin as he arched his hips slightly against him.

David gasped in shock as Archie suddenly flipped them over. Archie smiled down at him before lowering his lips to David’s. The kiss was long and slow. Archie’s tongue dominated David’s mouth, gliding smoothly over his lips, caressing his tongue softly. David’s fingers tangled in the short dark locks on the back of Archie’s head as he reveled in their kisses.

Reluctantly, Archie broke their kiss, but his lips continued to ghost over David’s cheek, nipping gently at his jaw. As he was doing so, he grabbed David’s hands and pinned them to the bed on either side of his head. He slid the tip of his tongue up to David’s ear. “I love you, Cook,” he whispered throatily before sucking his earlobe between his lips and sucking softly.

“Damn, Archie,” Cook replied, his voice more raspy than usual. “I love you, too. So much….” he closed his eyes and his head lulled back against the pillows as Archie continued leaving a wet trail down his neck. “Mmmm,” he groaned, as Archie’s mouth closed around his left nipple.

Archie sucked tenderly on the tiny, hard nub before sliding his tongue flatly to the right to repeat his actions with the other.

David felt his cock coming to life as Archie continued to kiss and suck on every inch of his milky white skin on his chest, leaving tiny marks in a few places. As he moved further down, he released David’s hands and slid his own down the older man’s sides.

He swirled his tongue around David’s navel and began dipping his tongue in and out quickly, teasing him. He looked up at David with a teasing smirk as he licked his lips before moving further south.

Archie began placing tiny kisses on the inside of David’s thighs, causing the older man to whimper. David sucked in a sharp breath as the tip of Archie’s tongue slid up the underside of his erection. He pressed his head back into the pillows as he felt Archie’s hot mouth surround the tip of his long, thick cock. "Oh God..." he whimpered. "Please....oh shit...Archie!" David fisted his left hand in Archie's short hair, guiding him, while the other gripped the pillow beside of his head. "Mmmm!"

Archie sucked on the tip of David’s erection hungrily, swirling his tongue around the sensitive head while his hand worked the base. "Oh....Archie....oh yeah, just like that baby. Fuck!" He moaned in that low husky voice that made Archie want to please him more.

Archie relaxed his throat and took David’s cock all the way in, causing him to gasp and arch his hips off the bed. "Oh my GOD!!! Mmmmph!"

Archie continued for a few moments before slowly letting David’s cock fall from his mouth. He let David roll them back over and begin that same journey down Archie’s body. Archie moaned loudly when David finally sucked his cock into his mouth and brought it to life with slow ministrations.

“Cook,” Archie whimpered, pushing David away from him, causing the older man to look at him with concern. “I’m…” he swallowed thickly. “Ready.”

After a long searing kiss, David stared down at the beautiful man below him. “Archie…” he whispered, his voice hoarse from the raw emotion. “I…I don’t want to hurt you.”

A small smile played across Archie’s lips. He reached up and placed his hand on the back of David’s neck. “You won’t.”

David leaned down and kissed him softly. “I love you.” He grabbed a pillow from the head of the bed and slipped it under Archie’s hips as he raised them off the bed. He then grabbed the small tube of lubricant and a condom from the nightstand. He ripped open the condom and carefully rolled it onto his hard cock. He then flipped the cap up on the lube. He squeezed a liberal amount of the slippery liquid onto his shaky fingers and onto Archie’s erection.

He wrapped one hand around Archie’s cock and began to stroke slowly while he moved the other hand to his entrance. Gently, he rubbed a well lubricated finger against the tight pucker. He glanced up as Archie began to moan softly and thrust his hips slightly. David assumed that he was enjoying the way it felt. “You like that, Baby?”

“Mmm, yeah….” he breathed.

Carefully David pushed against the taut ring, slipping the tip of his finger inside. He noticed very little resistance from his boyfriend so he continued on, sliding his finger all the way in. He glanced up at Archie who was licking his lips and exhaling short gasps of breath. David began to move the finger in and out and around, gauging the young man’s reaction. He smiled when he realized that Archie was thoroughly enjoying what he was doing. Soon he slipped a second finger inside, stretching him just a little more.

Archie groaned. “Oh yes….Cook….” He began rocking on David’s fingers, wanting more.

It was when David added the third finger that he felt Archie’s body tense up and he grimaced. He began to tug a little harder on his erection, hoping to help him relax.

Moments later, Archie was begging David for more, writhing around on the bed. David removed his fingers and positioned himself between Archie’s legs. After adding a large amount of lubrication to his condom covered erection, he lifted the younger man’s legs and pushed them up against his chest. Archie grabbed on to his thighs, holding them up while watching David position his cock at his entrance. He licked lips as he watched in anticipation. “Are you sure, Archie?” Came the question that he was definitely prepared to answer. He nodded vehemently. He wanted this so bad. Wanted to feel David inside of him. He wanted to know what it felt like to be completely consumed by him. “Oh Gosh,” he hissed as the tip of David’s erection pushed into him.

As David began to penetrate Archie’s unbelievably tight passageway, he bit his lip and forced himself not to plunge quickly into the hot tightness that he felt engulfing the tip of his penis. He watched Archie’s eyes flutter shut and he winced slightly at the intrusion. David then looked down to see his cock disappearing into the body of his lover. He immediately paused when he heard the agonizing whimpers coming from Archie. He looked up to find Archie’s face was contorted with pain. His eyes squeezed tightly shut, his bottom lip tucked painfully between his teeth. David’s eyes widened in alarm. “Archie?”

Archie forced his eyes open. “Don’t stop,” He gasped, reaching a hand out to rest on David’s arm. “Please, don’t stop.”

David gave in to his plea and kept pushing onward, letting his length slide completely into Archie’s young body. It was like heaven.

Once he was fully enveloped by Archie, David stared worriedly at Archie. The shimmer of tears evident on his cheeks. He suddenly felt his own tears threatening to fall. “Baby,” he whispered as he moved a hand to his cheek, gently rubbing away the tears with his thumb. “I’m so sorry.”

Archie closed his eyes briefly, sucking in a deep, shaky breath. As he opened them again, he grabbed David’s wrist and stared unwaveringly at his boyfriend. “Don’t be,” he whispered, his voice strained from the emotion he felt flowling through his soul. “I’m ok.” He turned his head slightly and kissed the palm of David’s hand. Then he smiled up at David and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

David nodded his head. “I won’t move until you tell me to, ok?”

Archie gave David an appreciative smile. The feeling of David inside of him was a bit uncomfortable, but at the same time it felt really incredible. He tried to relax his body more, letting it get accustomed to the feeling.

When he finally gave David permission to move, the older man was about to pass out. He didn’t think he could take the stillness much longer. He let out a loud sigh of relief when Archie said his name and rocked his hips suggestively.

Slowly, David begin to slide out of Archie only to plunge back in, causing the younger man to cry out and fist the bed spread in his hands. “Mmmph!” Archie’s eyes were fighting to stay open, his long lashes fluttering as they went shut. His lips were parted and his tongue darted out to lick his lips as his breath came in short gasps. “Uhhh…” he whined, scrunching his face slightly as David filled him repeatedly.

David gradually increased his pace only as Archie began to respond wantonly. He leaned down to kiss Archie in the midst of their love making. Archie let go of his legs and wrapped both his arms and legs around David, kissing him passionately as David’s cock moved in and out into him like a piston.

“Oh God. Cook!” He gasped, tearing his mouth away, as the tip of David’s cock brushed against his prostate for the first time.

“Does it feel good, Baby?” David panted as beads of sweat broke out over his body.

Archie dug his fingers into David’s back, clinging to his boyfriend for dear life as their bodies rocked to the rhythm that David had set. “Yes…” he gasped. “So good, Cookie….so good.” David then reached between them and began stroking Archie’s erection again. “Oh….Oh yeah….Baby. Mmm…” Archie burried his face in the crook of David’s shoulder, biting down on the tender flesh of his shoulder as his body shuddered with his orgasm.

David felt Archie’s body clenching down around him as his release rocked his body. Combined with the sting of teeth digging into his flesh and the hot stickiness of Archie’s cum landing hotly against his chest, it triggered his own orgasm. “OH FUCK! ARCHIE!” he cried out as he emptied his load into the condom, burried deep inside of Archie. “Fuckfuckfuckfuck….” he whimpered as tears sprung to his eyes. “Oh, Jesus,” he panted as his head fell to rest against Archie’s shoulder.

*****

After cleaning them both up, David crawled into bed with Archie and pulled his warm body close to him. He kissed his temple and snuggled tightly against him. “I love you so much, Archie.” He whispered. “Thank you for letting me show you.”

Archie smiled lazily, his body still coming down from the euphoric high that David had put him on. “I love you.” He said. “You don’t need to thank me. I wanted this so bad.”

“Well, I’m glad you trusted me enough to give yourself to me completely.”

“There is no one else in the world that I would rather share myself with.” Archie slipped his arms around him. “I love you, David Cook. More than life it’s self.”

David’s eyes misted over as he heard those words leave Archie’s lips. It had been a long and winding road to get them where they were. He was thankful for every twist and every turn though. Because without them, they might now be as strong as they were now. He smiled, thinking once again of Cassie and her belief in the master plan. Perhaps it really was true and only God did know why, because he would have never in a million years imagined him to be where he was at right at that moment.

“What are you thinking about?” Archie asked.

David smiled happily and placed a hand on Archie’s cheek. “Us.”

Archie looked at him and giggled softly. “What about us?”

David shook his head slowly, loving the way his heart swelled at the mere sound of Archie’s laugh. “Everything. I’ve never been so happy in all of my life, Archie. I have you to thank for that.”

Archie swallowed the lump in his throat and stared at his boyfriend. “Really?”

David nodded. “Really.” He smiled seeing the sparkle in Archie’s eyes. He leaned in and kissed the boy softly. “You make my life complete.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is FICTION. A result of my twisted mind hard at work. I do not know Cook or Archie or anyone associated with them, yadiyadiyadda.


End file.
